Mystery of Strider
by Cactuslotus
Summary: Three things are known; Bro leaves often on business trips, you are now sixteen, and things aren't as they seem. What does Bro even do? What happened? And why the hell is Cal following you! (Warning, dark material in later chapters)
1. Chapter 1

It has been two days and still no sign of Bro. You seriously don't get what he does half the time, You mean seriously. At least Cal isn't on the counter- WRONG! Stupid creepy puppet, watching with those stupid blue eyes... and there are smuppets in the microwave again. It's times like these that you bust out aj and just go to your room.  
You wish your back would stop hurting. It's not a usual kind of back pain, but like someone is stabbing all over your back with a rusty screwdriver. If that wasn't bad enough, it started up just as Bro had left and has only gotten worse. As much as checking your back in the mirror might help, your apartment has no mirrors. You hadn't seen a mirror until you were five at school, and even then you still didn't see them that often.  
You are now turning sixteen and several things are happening;  
1- Your friends are messaging  
2- Bro is still gone  
3- You feel like you were hit by two buses, cause just one wouldn't hurt this bad  
4- You still have school tomorrow  
And 5- No more apple juice.  
The last one could be covered in moments since there was a convince store down the street, but you know Cal holds onto you when you leave when Bro isn't around. It doesn't make sense, but Cal seems alive sometimes, even so far as ending up in your backpack when you know even Bro leaves your school stuff alone. You needed aj, and Cal would follow you, so you actually decided to bring the little guy with you no matter how creepy he was, because finding him following you would be creepier. You swear his arms actually hold on when you toss him on your shoulder.  
The convince store was a simple trip down to the end of the block, across the street, and through the trash lot. Bro said to walk around the lot, but that takes forever. John is waiting out front. "Hi Dave!"  
"Sup."  
"You remembered your movie, right?"  
"No it's hiding at the lot."  
"So, it's on a flash drive?"  
"You know me so well."  
"Then how about you come with me now to movie night instead of showing up twenty minutes late like usual?"  
"My plan exactly." No planning. Good thing you did your homework. John laughed, but he decided to walk with you on the long trip to Rose's house. He actually had a bike with him, and after remembering the huge slope down near Rose's house you had an idea. "Hey Egbert, ever been early?"  
"No, why?"  
"We could ride your bike down the slope and be there in a minute."  
"The bike has one seat, what are you going to do? Ride in the basket?"  
"I could fit."  
"No way. I bet an apple juice at school tomorrow on it."  
"You just awakened the might force that is a Strider. Watch and learn." The basket on the bike wasn't very big, but it was strong and held, even when you sat in it. "You owe me apple juice."  
John was laughing so hard he almost let go of the bike. "You win. Now let's go!" John had hopped on, pushing them forward so they rolled a moment before rocketing down the slope. The bike went down the slope and well down the street before eventually stopping a few feet from Rose's house, toppling over on the sidewalk. You felt completely in pain, but hopped up acting like it was nothing. John was already up and you both headed for the door.  
Rose was unimpressed with their antics. "You came early? Come in, I'll get the first aid kit." Rose walked past Jade, who you knew was always ten minutes earlier than John, continuing to lead you to to the bathroom. She pulled out a first aid kit, patching up the two of you. "Although I appreciate you not being late, refrain from crashing next time."  
The night went normally the first to movies, but then your life had to show up. You suddenly felt like you were being clawed apart and set on fire. You casually walk to the bathroom before promptly locking the door. You shirt came off and you tried seeing your back in the mirror. You looked fine, but something was wrong. Suddenly you were on your knees, gritting your teeth as you bit back swears. You couldn't see what was going on, but it felt like someone hacked in your back. No one was in the bathroom but you, so that wasn't it.  
The pain kept getting worse and worse, eventually to the point you couldn't even stay on your knees, instead laying on the floor. Slowly the pain faded and disappeared, leaving you exhausted and nerve wraked. Breaths were labored, painful. As breathing returned to normal you stood up only to spot what had happened.  
Two large wings were sprouting from your back, almost angelic looking. Moving the wings was second nature, simple as breathing. This made no sense. You had seen Bro without a shirt and your over 9000% sure you would have remembered seeing wings.  
Pounding sounded on the door. "Dave? You've been in there quiet some time, are you alright?"  
"Define 'some time'."  
"Twenty-five minutes. We finished the movie."  
You try putting your shirt on. Your wings still show. "I'm alright. Give me five more minutes."  
"Daaaave! I have to pee!" Jade sounded.  
"Isn't there another bathroom in this house?"  
"Not that she can use." Rose stated. Your sensitive new wings rubbing against the fabric feels like sandpaper, and since it didn't hide your wings you take it off. Rose knocked on the door again," Dave, I'm unlocking the door."  
"Don't open the door!" You are no holding the door shut, eyes scanning the room for something, but the only thing you can find is the shower curtain. You hide behind the curtain just as Rose unlocks the door.  
"Dave? I know your in the shower. Please get out."  
"No can do."  
"Why is your shirt on the ground?"  
"Must be your shirt."  
"There is a broken record on it."  
"You have a good taste in shirts."  
"Dave, get out."  
"I'm busy."  
"Busy being silly. Now get out." Rose pulled open the shower curtain. None of your friends looked like they were expecting this, but then again neither were you. "Dave... is there a reason you have wings?"  
"I just do?" Rose took a step closer, looking at the feathers closely. "Rose? Some space?"  
"Sorry, I'm just interested. I don't remember you having wings."  
"That's because they just appeared, say twenty minutes ago? Around that time."  
"Are you alright?"  
"Yeah, it's not like I grew wings or anything."  
"So, what are you?"  
"Hell, like I know. I didn't even know this would happen." Rose grabbed your hand and lead the way over to the couch, John and Jade following behind. Your wings felt weird in the open air, out of place. "Is there a reason you're dragging me to your couch?"  
"You can't hide in the bathroom."  
"What if your mom sees me?"  
"She's out drinking. If she comes home, she will think you are some alcohol induced dream." Rose went back over to her spot.  
"That's so cool Dave! Your wings kinda look like a baby chicks though." Jade sat next to Dave.  
"Didn't you need the bathroom?"  
"No, we just wanted to make sure you weren't being stupid."  
"Oh really?"  
"I almost thought you were taking selfies when I saw the shirt."  
"You're never letting me live that down, are you?"  
"Nope!" Jade laughed.  
Rose was still staring at your wings, in fact she had moved closer. "Something isn't quite right here. Does Bro have wings?"  
"No, why?"  
Rose pulled out her gigantic book, flipping through. "I'm not finding creatures along these guides that aren't dangerous. With how often Bro is missing at times, he could in fact be something extremely dangerous, which leads back to if he even knows."  
"Like a sparkly vampire?"  
"Unless they have wings, no. But something along those lines."  
The room fell silent. "Can we please go back to watching movies? What was next, Con Air?" You put in the movie before sitting back down.  
"Dave?" John asked, sitting down next to you," You left your shirt in the bathroom." He handed to you. The rest of movie night was pretty normal, even the walk home. You were so distracted you almost forgot Cal was holding on to you. What did Bro do on his trips?


	2. Chapter 2

You wake up to your aching wings screaming at you for sleeping on them. That was a thing now along with not wanting to shove your wings in your shirt because it felt weird. Then again, having wings was weird, so you were at a loss as to what to do. The clock read 7:32, so you had to get up if you were to get to school on time.  
You stretch your wings before tossing on a shirt and using your phone to check your appearance. Shirts suck at hiding wings. You look around your room, remembering there are bandages in the bathroom. You walk into the bathroom, close the door and start tiring down your wings. The bandages felt horrible, but you eventually tied down your wings enough that they weren't noticeable through your shirt. As soon as you step out, you trip on Cal.  
"Sup lil' man." Bro was at the table eating ramen.  
"When did you get back?"  
"Today, now eat breakfast." Bro pushed over a bowl of cereal before continuing to read his weird book.  
Cal was hugging your neck again. "Go away." It took forever to pry him off. As soon as you went back to your cereal Cal was back.  
"Anything go down while I was gone?" Bro asked.  
"Nope." You tossed Cal again, trying to finish your cereal.  
"Oh really? I was gone for three days, something must have happened."  
"School, which I'm going to be late to if I don't leave." You stand up, grab your backpack and race down the hall. You jump the stair railing and land lightly at the bottom before going down the street. You catch up to the bus in time to get on, sitting down next to John. "Sup Egbert?"  
"You almost didn't make it!" John put his PDA away.  
"Bro came back and Cal wouldn't go away."  
"Did he find out?"  
"No, I left."  
"Oh." The bus hit a bump, the seat backing smacking roughly into your wings. This had to be the longest bus ride of your life. "You alright there Dave?"  
"I feel peachy." Your wings ached and you still had school

Lunch finally showed up, taking agonizingly long to appear. No wonder people ditched. "Sup guys. We having fun yet?"  
"Yes, all laughter and kittens today." Rose commented as she continued reading through her book.  
"I have late homework." John was trying to eat lunch and write at the same time.  
"What? Perfect straight A, pocket protecting John forgot his homework?" You say in fake shock before continuing with lunch.  
"I stayed up late talking to Jade."  
"Where is she anyway?"  
"Right here!" Jade hugged you, which hurt like hell. The bandages were rubbing into your feathers and your wings itched and ached. "Are you alright?"  
"Yeah."  
"You sounded like someone stabbed you."  
"Just stop hugging me."  
"Sorry Dave!" Jade stopped hugging you and started eating her lunch. "Um, Dave?"  
"Yes?"  
"Feathers fell out of your shirt." You look down to find several yellow-white feathers around you, another floating to the ground.  
"Shit." You run for the bathroom, as soon as you were in you checked to make sure no one was inside before pulling up your shirt. Your wings looked pathetic covered in bandages. The door opened and John stepped in, you could hear Jade arguing with someone a moment before the door closed. "What is it Egbert?"  
"I'm making sure your okay. Quick, in the handicap stall! Jade can't hold Karkat off forever." John pulled you into the stall before closing it. "Are your wings okay? Do they hurt?"  
"No, I'm having the best day ever. Wings are so easy to care for." Your wings felt horrible. You've had these things for a day and they're already trying to kill you.  
"How did you tie them down?"  
"Bandages."  
"Dave! That can't be healthy. How about I take the bandages off and make sure you didn't hurt yourself?" John looked concerned.  
"Fine." You pulled your shirt off, noticing John's sad face. He unwrapped the bandages quickly and a soon as you felt the last one come off you unfurled your wings as wide as the stall allowed, noticing more feathers fall.  
"Dave hold still!" John's eyes scanned over your wings. "You're fine, but I don't understand."  
"I need to tie them back down."  
"I'll help you. Here, just tell me if it's to tight." John pulled the first bandage around loosely.  
"You're going to have to tie it tighter." You felt him pull it tight, then continuing on. It almost hurt, but you kept quiet as John tied your wings down.  
"I'm done." John handed you your shirt. You pull it on before turning around, noticing how shaken up he looked.  
"You okay there John?" To this John shook his head no. "What's wrong?"  
"You shouldn't have to do that. It hurt you Dave, but I helped you anyway." John sound like he was on the verge of tears.  
"You know and I know I have to. Come on, we spent a lot of lunch in here." You opened the stall and headed back to the table. Rose and Jade gave you worried looks when you came back, Rose even put her book down.  
"So, are you alright?" Rose asked.  
"Feathers are just falling out. No reason, they just are."  
"Maybe your molting? Your feathers didn't seem to be permanent anyway. More like baby feathers." Jade added. If anyone knew, Jade would seeing how she seemed to love studying everything.  
"If that is the case, how am I supposed to explain to Bro why the apartment is full of feathers? I don't think just telling him would work."  
"Maybe school project? Say your building bird masks for the drama club for extra credit."  
"Actually, they do need bird masks for their next play, so if you need extra credit make some." Rose added.  
"Cool. Need the credit. What kind of masks?"  
"Any kind they can get."  
"Getting so much credit, you don't even know." The bell rang, and off you guys went, going to your classes.  
"Hey Strider!" A gravely voice called from behind you. You turn to see Karkat with his default grumpy expression. "What were you and John doing in the bathroom?"  
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."  
Karkat's face went bright red. "You know what? Don't tell me, forget I asked!" You headed off to class, laughing at Karkat's expression.


	3. Chapter 3

You woke up to Cal in your face. "Holy f-" you tumble off your bed and land flat on your behind, wings spread in surprise. You quickly pull your wings back, gathering up the fallen feathers and tossing them in a jar, like you had done when you untied your wings to go to bed. Thank all that is your life that today was Saturday. You agreed to go over to Rose's house today along with John and Jade to see if it was really molting or not and to make bird masks.  
You pulled out the large fold up makeup mirror Rose gave you, setting it up before tying down your wings. You made sure you looked normal before hiding the mirror in your dresser drawer again, grabbing your bag and putting the feathers in before heading for the door.  
"Where are you going lil' man?" Bro asked, standing by the door.  
"Rose's house. She needed help making bird masks for drama club, so I'm going over." You try side stepping him, only to realize he wouldn't let you.  
"You know the rules. Strife first, then you can leave."  
"Bro, please. Just this once."  
"Fine, if you tell me what happened when I was gone."  
"I went to school, messaged my friends after school. I went to movie night at Rose's the night before you came back. I had a B on my math test and I got offered extra credit if I helped the drama club. That's it." Of course, Bro stayed were he was. You noticed Cal clinging to your leg, his creepy face staring at you.  
"Something else happened while I was gone, Dave. What happened." Bro stepped forward.  
"I'm serious Bro." You kick off Cal before stepping back. You knew he would have a strife in the apartment to find out what you weren't saying. Your only way out was the front door and your window, but your window was locked while the door wasn't.  
"Just tell me and I'll let you go to Rose's. Hell, I'll even drive you there."  
"Why don't you believe me? That's what happened." You take another step back, Bro another forward.  
"You've been acting more secretive since I came back. What happened?" Bro took another step forward. You step back just to slip on Cal and hit your head against the counter edge. You felt something drip down your neck, hands flying up to hold your head. The edge of the bandages showed from where Cal's head had pushed up your shirt when you fell on him.  
"Hold on lil' man." Bro picked you up, carrying you into the bathroom before setting you on the counter and checking your head. Suddenly your shirt was yanked up. "Nothing happened, huh? Your just covered in bandages and feathers for fun?"  
Cal gave you away and you knew it. "Oh yeah." He started untying the bandages. "Bro, stop. That isn't cool."  
"You can do serious damage to yourself if you do this wrong, which isn't cool." Bro pulled off all the bandages," So, care to explain?"  
"It just happened. I don't even know what's going on."  
"Your feathers are falling out."  
"Jade thinks it's molting and that I'm getting my 'big birdie' feathers. Yay puberty."  
"Who else knows?"  
"John and Rose."  
"Was the bird masks a lie?"  
"I wish."  
"Alright lil' man, you can go to Rose's house if you promise not to wear your bandages for too long, too tight. Got it?"  
"Yes." You felt bro tie the bandages on, but they weren't tight.  
"This is the tightest I want you going, alright? We need to talk when you get back." Bro put Cal in your bag before handing it over and you head out. "Hey!" You turn in time to grab the jacket he tossed you," it's cold, wear it."  
You put on the jacket before hopping the railing. You walk to Rose's, knocking on the door. "Sup Rose." You step in.  
"Your late."  
"Bro held me up, like he always does." You pull out the container of feathers from your bag.  
"So a strife?"  
"Not this time. He found out about my wings."  
"What?" Jade stood up from her spot on Rose's couch.  
"Cal tripped me, so that ended quickly."  
"Hey Dave, come over here!" Jade motioned for you to come over. You walk over and she sits you down with your back to her.  
"I get that your checking my wings, but why do you have a brush?" You look over your shoulder at the strange brush.  
"I thought it would help with the loose feathers. If it works you could brush your wings to keep feathers from falling out of your shirt."  
"Didn't think of that." Once again the bandages came off, along with your shirt.  
"You should find another way to hold your wings down." Jade commented. You stretched out your wings, and it felt amazing. Jade checked over your wings closely before using her weird brush on your feathers, which felt even better than stretching your wings out. Jade seemed to be giggling. "So yes to the brush?"  
"Does it work?"  
"It works. I've got a pile of loose feathers to prove it." You turn to see a small mound of feathers on the ground next to Jade's feet.  
"I must be dying."  
"No! You really are molting, which is weird because you've only had wings for three days now."  
"It's also weird I have wings."  
"Yeah."  
"Can you two help?" Rose was still trying to make bird masks, but John seemed to be concentrating on not making a mess.  
"Fine." All four of you working together, you made a few masks and were done in ten minutes," Does anyone else find it weird that I'm using my feathers for extra credit?"  
"Not at all, it's completely normal." Rose stated.  
"Good to know. What do we do now?"  
Rose grabbed a board game. "Monopoly anyone?"


	4. Chapter 4

You came home at three, tossing Cal on the couch. You had tried to leave Cal at Rose's, but the puppet ended up in your bag or holding onto you no matter how hard you threw him. Eventually you just shoved him in your bag so he would stop trying cling to you, but he got out halfway back. Bro looked over from the Care Bear movie. "Dave, get over here."  
"Why?"  
"I told you we were going to talk when you came back."  
"Fine." You sit down on the couch.  
"I'm taking you with me on my next trip. We are leaving next Friday after school."  
"Why are you taking me with you?"  
"Because I need to keep an eye on you, Cal can only do so much."  
Your gaze shift to Cal," Stupid puppet."  
"Don't dis lil' Cal. Besides, it's that or I'm leaving you with your Aunt Lalonde for two days."  
"Really? Nothing else?"  
"I will tell her about your wings of course, and leave Cal with you."  
"Come on, you know she would over react."  
"That's the deal, take it or leave it."  
"That's not fair. What do you even do?"  
"That's a long story," Bro paused the movie," I do run my business, but I also go on special hunting trips."  
"I don't get what's could be so special about hunting."  
"I hunt creatures that are out of the ordinary. That's actually how I found you, oh, fifteen and a half years ago?"  
That caught your attention. "You found me?"  
"Yeah. The neighbors said you had been around for six months, your family had moved in a month earlier than that. There had been a huge fight amongst your parents, another family, and some other troublemakers. By the time me and Harley had gotten there, it was just you and Jade left in the wreckage, so I took you and Harley took Jade."  
"You waited till I was an angsty teenager to tell me I'm adopted? What about Jade, does she know?"  
"Probably not. She should be realizing it any time now, though."  
You left, going to your room and shutting the door before untying your wings. You had them wrap around you, looking over your feathers. You went over them slowly, stopping when you noticed a black feather. It hadn't been there before, and it was so odd amongst the light feathers. You scan the rest of your wings, noticing that this wasn't just an odd feather; in fact the feathers growing in were pitch black.  
You pulled your iTouch out of your pocket and start messaging your friends.

-TurntechGodhead (TG) began pestering EctoBiologist (EB)-  
TG: john  
TG: john you there  
TG: john  
EB: hey Dave  
TG: their black  
EB: what are black?  
TG: my feathers  
TG: and me and harley are adopted  
EG: what? how are you guys adopted?  
TG: we were found where our families died  
TG: got to tell harley  
EG: what?  
-TurntechGodhead (TG) ceased pestering EctoBiologist (EG)-  
-TurntechGodhead (TG) began pestering GardenGnostic (GG)-  
TG: jade  
GG: Hey Dave :)  
TG: i dont know how to say this  
TG: but youre adopted  
GG: Huh? Dave, what do you mean?  
TG: bro and your grandpa found us as babies  
TG: long story short youre not human like me or maybe not completely like me but you get the  
point  
GG: Wait, I'm like you?  
TG: maybe but you are from another family so you might be something else  
TG: on the bright side you will know your exact 16 birthday  
GG: Oh, I guess that's good to know.  
GG: My grandpa has my birth certificate though, but it explains why it's burnt on the edges.  
TG: mine might be fake then  
GG: It lined up with your birthday though!  
TG: still dont trugfhmfgujegrgbgfghjgu  
GG: Dave?  
GG: Are you okay?  
TG: cal got me  
GG: :/ ?  
TG: he pulled on one of my feathers  
GG: Ouch.  
TG: oh and my new feathers are black  
GG: Really? That's really cool :)  
TG: bro is trying to get in see you tomorrow  
GG: bye  
-TurntechGodhead (TG) ceased pestering GardenGnostic (GG)-  
-GardenGnostic (GG) ceased pestering TurntechGodhead (TG)-

You locked your door after tossing Cal out. You heard a knock on your door. "Dave, open the door."  
"Nope." You tossed on a thick jacket and unlocked your window.  
"Lil' man, open up." You could hear him knock again.  
"I'm taking a nap." You call over your shoulder as you crawl out the window, closing it before climbing up to the next fire escape, then the next, and on until you got to the roof. You ran along the rooftop before reaching the side. A running leap and you reached the next rooftop and duck behind the roof entrance to take a break. You can hear Bro calling your name now, but you just wanted to be alone. Everything around you seemed to be changing so fast.  
Footsteps sound on the roof, and you ready some smart mouthed response, only to realize it wasn't Bro. The steps were too heavy, catching your attention. The man on the roof wore a black suit, smoking as he flipped through a stack of papers. He looked over at the sound of your coat fabric crinkling. "What are ya' doing up here kid?"  
"I'm hiding from my guardian."  
"What for?"  
"He just told me I'm adopted. It's a lot to take in."  
"Hm. Here kid." The man held out what looked like a snake skull with different plants sticking out of it on a string, like some creepy charm necklace. "Don't need any more kids getting hurt."  
You stare it the charm confused. "What is it?"  
"It's a charm against denizen gifts."  
"What are those?"  
"They're dangerous kid, come in many forms. They been in this area a long time, and they attack young kids like yourself, adults too."  
"Can you explain more?"  
"You wouldn't believe me, kid."  
"Yes I would."  
"Oh really? Well, denizen gifts are a select group of supernatural beings with strange abilities starting at maturity. Your born one, but you never really know unless you see their eyes. They always have freaky vivid eyes, but then again some normal people have vivid eyes, so it's hard to tell. They prey on young people, but if you get hold of one you can get abilities your self by drinking its blood."  
"Who tries these things?"  
"I don't know, some bozo I guess. Take the charm kid." He held it out again.


	5. Chapter 5

The charm was a probably a good idea, so you reach out. As soon as it came in contact with your skin you pulled back. You look at your hand to see red angry marks, burning like you grabbed lava. "What the hell?"  
The guy stared at you. "How old are you?" You decide this guy is bad news, standing up as you take a step back, looking for where to head off to. "Kid, calm down." You run for the edge of the building and jump to the next rooftop. You kept running, looking back to see the guy was not nearly as fast, almost dropping his fedora, barely making it over to the rooftop. He had a hard time following you, while it felt easy to you. All those strifes and times practicing parkour were really paying off, and you were far enough ahead that you decide to jump down the fire escape and take off down the alley. You ran down the block, climbed back up the fire escape and climbed in your window before locking it.  
You look over to see Cal right next to you. "How do you do that?" You walk into the bathroom, running cold water over your marked hand. It just made it burn worse, and you pull back almost immediately. The door opened and close, footsteps sounding in the hall. Bro looked in," Wh-" he noticed you holding your hand," what happened?"  
"I ran into someone. He said something about dangerous creatures in the area and gave me a protection charm, but it did this." You held up your hand. Bro held your wrist, looking over your hand.  
"What kind of charm?"  
"He said it was for denizen gifts. It was some snake skull with plants in it." You notice Bro's concerned face. "So, I guess we know what I am now."  
"Come on, we need to fix this before it spreads." Bro lead you into his room, sitting you down before pulling open a ceiling compartment and pulling out a box. He shifted through it before pulling out several odd things and mixing them. He came over with the weird mix," Give me your hand." You hold out your hand. "This is going to hurt." He dunked your hand in the mix, and it burned almost worse than when you got it, but then the pain slowly faded away.  
As soon as the pain was gone you looked at your hand to see it mark free. "Are denizen gifts bad?"  
"They're usually calm unless someone messes with them. Of course, people do mess with them, so they might have gotten rough in the area." Bro was putting things away.  
"That sucks. How many are left?"  
Bro stopped a second. "They're going extinct because so many people hunt them. What did the guy look like?"  
"Black suit and fedora, scratch over one eye, reading some files and a terrier fancy."  
"Avoid Slick. He's bad news, along with his group."  
"You know him?"  
"He hunts things for profit, I ran into him while trying to solve disputes a few times. And this incident just guaranteed that I'm not leaving you in town."  
"Bro, no."  
"Fine. I'm going to be gone Monday. If you can handle it I'll let you stay with your aunt, if not your coming along."

"Earth to Egbert, you read?"  
"Huh? Sorry, just trying to remember if I got my homework. Maybe you can come over so we can study?"  
"No can do, Bro is out of town. I have to be responsible so he doesn't make me go with him Friday."  
"Oh, alright." The bus stopped, hopping off and walking home. It was peaceful, and you got all your homework done and looked over your wings again, noticing all the new black feathers. It grew later, and you looked through the cabinets for aj, but your stores always seemed to be gone. You head out the the door just as Cal grabs your neck. You decide to leave him there, closing the door as you head out.  
The walk down to the convince store was quick, grabbing apple juice and heading to the register. You turn around, almost running into a tall black suited, fedora wearing man. "Sorry there. Is that Cal?"  
You remember Cal was holding onto your neck. "Yeah, why?"  
"You must be Strider's kid." The guy had a disappointed look," You seen any kids like you in the area?"  
"What, white blond and tall? Sorry, but no." You payed for your juice and walked out, hopping the fence into the empty lot.  
"Hey kid." You turn to the man's voice from the store. "You left your change on the counter."  
"Keep it." You turn back around, continuing. You felt something on your wrist, and you felt like you were burning a moment before collapsing to the ground, unable to feel anything. "What do you know, your the kid Slick found."  
"What did you do?"  
"This is what happens if someone wearing the charm bumps you." The footsteps got closer, but then you heard historical laughing. The footsteps took off, along with the laughing, but then you notice Cal fall over next to you. It took quiet a while before you could get up, carrying Cal home with you and flopping on the couch in exhaustion.  
"Why do these things happen to me?" You hear something, looking up to see your now open apple juice. You just drink it, falling asleep on the couch.  
"Hey lil' man." Bro comes in, waking you up.  
"What time is it?" You sit up.  
"Three in the morning." Bro replied," Go to bed."  
"But I already slept."  
"Bed."  
"Fine." You go to your room, falling asleep again with your wings spread out.


	6. Chapter 6

You were up and heading to school on time, eyes peeled for any of the odd suits. The bus pulled up as John showed up. "Hi Dave!" John hopped in the seat next to you.  
"Did you get your homework?"  
"Yeah, I had everything. You seem tired, you alright?"

"I'm not tired, I'm-"you yawn loudly," fine, I'm tired."

"Why are you tired?"

"Some guys gave me a rough time."

"What did they look like?"

"Black suits, fedoras, like want to be gangsters." You hear Karkat move in the seat behind you, turning to look at him. "What's with the surprised expression?"

"Nothing, I'm just wondering who would waste time messing with you."

"One guy had a scar over his eye and reading Terrier Fancy, the other tall with a diamond pocket clip. Only the second guy could catch up, but he ran off."

Karkat was staring at you like you just sprouted extra limbs, which was sort of true. Good thing he didn't know about your wings. "You're serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" The three you sat in silence.

"Hey, we're here." John got you to turn around, hopping off the bus and heading in. "So, do you think Karkat knows?"

"Definitely. Should investigate this."

"He does talk to Jade a lot. Maybe he will be around Jade?"

"Probably." You spot him off to the side, bee lining for his position. "Hey Vantas, you alright?"

Karkat gave a look around before slipping into the bathroom. You follow him, noticing its empty except for you three. "Go away and never come around again!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Go away!" Karkat quickly noticed John," Is he like you?"

"No, he's not fabulous."

"Wow Dave. Karkat what's wrong? Why are you acting weird?" John stepped forward.

"Do you know what Dave is?"

"Yeah, he told me and Rose and Jade."

Karkat looked annoyed. "Oh really? Then why aren't you worried?"

"Worried? He's just different."

"They attack people!"

"Not really, just people who attack first from what I've heard. I just know what Bro knows, and he takes time to figure things out instead of just attacking kids." You frown," What do you know?"

Karkat seemed surprised. "My step dad hunts weird dangerous things, and he actually chased you the other day."

"Your step dad's an out of shape jerk. Why not be with your dad?"

"My dad is dead asshat."

"So is mine, calm down."

Karkat was taken back. "You aren't related to 'bro'?"

"No, but it's not like I have living relatives, so he's my family. Besides, if he thought I was dangerous he could take me out."

Karkat dropped his fighting stance," I guess that's true. I'm still suspicious of you Strider."

"Not over the sunshine bridge yet?"

"Hell no. Keep your sunshine bridge!"

"I'm hurt, Karkat. I thought we were friend."

"We are, but I'm keeping an eye on you."

"So I don't have to leave school and never return?"

"Of course not." Karkat grabbed his back pack off the ground," I've got to meet Jade, so good bye." He left the bathroom. You and John left too, only to hear the bell ring. Karkat's disappointed yell was heard well above the sounds of the other students.

First and second period were uneventful, but in third you noticed Jade looked like she was having a rough day, and she actually left in the middle of class to go to the bathroom. This wouldn't be weird, except today was her sixteenth birthday. You snuck some things from your bag into your pocket before raising your hand. "Yo teach, I need to use the bathroom."

Ms. Disciple nodded," Go ahead." You casually strolled out the door, then ran to the bathroom, hearing Jade. You are so glad your school is old and cheap, so it doesn't have cameras all over, heading in the girls bathroom.

"Jade, you alright?"

"No, I'm not alright!" Jade sounded like she was crying.

"What's wrong?"

"It hurts, and I thought maybe I would be like you, but I'm not."

"Jade, mind letting me see?" You saw her open the door and pull you in. Her ears were tall, furry and pointed, and her hands almost felt rough like the padding on a paw. A fluffy tail was tucked between her legs. "That's different."

"Yes Dave, this is different. We're still at school, what I'm going to do?"

"I grabbed some stuff. Bandage roll, tape, a bandana, and a still have Rose's headband thing."

"Did you just grab random things from your bag?"

"No. Okay, maybe, but I'm not an expert here." You tie her ears down before covering it with Rose's headband. "Maybe just tuck your tail into your pants?"

"Fine, sounds like a plan." Moments later she look fairly normal.

"Alright, so head to class first and I'll be there moments later, alright?" She headed down the hall, going back to class. You then heard a giggle from the other way. You turn to see Terezi.

"So, hiding in the girls room are we?"

"You caught me. How will I ever live it down?"

"You never will cool kid."

"How about you forget this ever happened?"

"I don't know Dave, this is some interesting information I've come across."

"You know that one time with Vantas? I'm calling in my favor."

"You win this round, but the prosecution will find something. You're hiding something big, I can smell it."

"I'm an innocent man, Pyrope and the prosecution has no evidence."

"Not yet, but I will find the evidence."

"I have to head back to class. Later Terezi."

"Bye Dave!" She waves with her free hand, holding her billy cane in the other.

You walk into class in time to gather your stuff before the bell rings, walking with Jade to lunch today. "You alright?"

"This is the worst day ever."

"It's that bad?"

"Yes."

"I guess my surprise won't cheer you up."

"What surprise?"

"Oh, you know, just a surprise." You sat at the table, digging through your bag.

"Hello." Rose sat down at the table. "Happy birthday Jade."

You pulled out a purple stuffed rabbit with mismatched green and red button eyes," Surprise."

Jade looked up from the table, she almost laughed. "Wow Dave."

"Well, he's yours." You hold him out to Jade, slight smile when she took it. The rabbit had several extra patches from having to fix him after your strife with Bro, and the strife was because you tried using a thimble when making the silly thing. Jade liked it though, and that's what mattered.

She stood up to toss out her trash, Tavros stopping her to say something. You walk up and toss out your trash just as he hands her something. Suddenly Jade's falls, and you catch her. "Jade? Jade, are you alright. Tavros came over, and that's when you spot it; he has a creepy snake charm around his neck. "Hey, give her some space."

"Oh, uh, sorry! Is she okay?" Tavros would probably know about the charm, so you need to come up with something.

"Yeah, she just has narcolepsy. She almost had control of her condition." Now to get him to not wear the charm around her. "Hey, does that charm have purslane flowers?" Thank you Bro for looking the charm up.

"Huh? Yeah, I think so, uh, why?"

"She's allergic to them, they make her nose itch. It might have triggered her narcolepsy."

"Oh! I'll put it away, I'm sorry!" Tavros ran off. You noticed him tell Sollux and Aradia too. How many kids did Slick give charms to anyway?

"Dave?" You look back to Jade, helping her up.

"You alright sleeping beauty?"

"I can move, but I can barely feel anything."

"Side note, you're allergic to purslane flowers and are getting control over your narcolepsy."

"I heard you, but why that plant?"

"Cause people don't use it around town and it's so people won't wear the charms around you, so this won't happen."

"Seriously?"

"Thank the puberty fairy."


	7. Chapter 7

You stumbled into the door and landed on the couch. Cal landed on your head. "Sup lil' man. Roof in five."  
"My wings are killing me, can I take a nap?"  
"Fine. Roof in ten." Bro left to go to the roof. You untied your wings and stretched them out, keeping an eye on the time before tossing on a jacket. You got up to the roof with Cal and a katana only to spot Slick on the roof arguing with Bro.  
"Your little runt is a menace! He ain't human."  
"He's not hurting anyone, now if I remember correctly you live the next building over."  
"If they ain't human, they're a threat."  
"He's a good kid who just happens to be a denizen gifts. Touch him and I will end you."  
"Oh so my exper- well, speak of the devil! It's the little freak now. What is he? With the way he takes off and his lack off features he's probably got reptile or avian additions." Slick sneered.  
"Sorry, forgot this was the no fun zone. I'll come back when you have the balls to take off your charm."  
"What'd you say runt?!"  
"Oh, sorry that was rude to all the woman who are braver than you. You couldn't handle me without your charm."  
"That's it!" Slick took his charm and hat off, tossing them to the side before pulling out a cane of sorts.  
"Don't kill him Dave." Bro smirked. That's when Slick seemed to lose it. You dodged around, hitting him square in the back with your still covered blade. You hit him again in the ankle and then behind the knees, taking him out rather quickly. He glared at you, but then again he just got knocked before he could blink.  
"I wasn't ready." Slick stood up. You kicked him in the back off the knees again.  
"You attacked first, you were ready. Admit it, you lost."  
"I didn't lose." He tried knocking you over, but you just moved out of his reach. He eventually walked over and grabbed his hat and charm, so the fight was over. Well, you thought the fight was over, but he went back to fighting. You dodged out of his reach several times, hitting him with your covered katana instead of kicking him. You knocked him over again, leaving him the opening to run if he decided he had enough. Off course he stayed and you had to knock him over three more times.  
"This is getting ridiculous. Slick, just go home." Bro stated from where he and Cal were standing.  
"You taught your brat well. I'll leave." You take a step back, letting Slick stand back up. He shoved you back, and you landed hard on your back, unable to move. "What's the matter, kid? Land on somethin'?" He hit your shades off with his cane. "Fire, huh?"  
Bro had his blade to Slick's neck,"Walk away slowly."  
"Alright, alright!" Slick stepped away, taking a running jump to the next rooftop over. You couldn't move and your shades had slid a few feet away. Bro picked up your shades, putting them back in place before picking you up and carrying you back to the apartment.  
"You did well, but keep a better eye out, alright?"  
"I got it. What did he mean by fire?"  
"Eye color correlates to your ability, but that comes later."  
"So, if it's bright green what would that be?"  
"Probably something related to living things." Bro opened the apartment door, holding you in one arm so he could close it. He set you down on the couch. "It should be wearing off soon. You want pepperoni on your half?"  
"You know it." You stare at the wall as he ordered pizza, waiting as feeling came back to your limbs. You sat up, tossing off your jacket only to hear a knock at the door and have to put the jacket on again. You open the door to see Karkat. "Why do you know where my house is?"  
"You told me in science class so we could do the project together." Karkat frowned. You had completely forgotten.  
"I meant the building."  
"I live the next building over, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to realize where you are."  
"Bro, I have a friend coming over." You call over your shoulder.  
"Oh, when?"  
"Right now."  
"Give me a better warning next time." Bro walked off to his room. "Tell me when the pizza gets here."  
"Got it." You look back over to Karkat," Alright, come in."  
"You forgot didn't you."  
"No I just give terrible warnings. Our project was about using litmus paper to check pH of normal things."  
"So, not you?"  
"The list doesn't include cool kids. I'm guessing your pH is thirteen."  
"Why thirteen?" Karkat asked confused.  
"Because your questions are basic as hell. Let's get started, number one is apple juice." You checked apple juice, along with bleach, orange soda, milk, soap, lime juice and some other stuff you didn't really care for until pizza showed up. "Bro, pizza."  
"Sweet."  
"I'm going to get something from my room." You told Karkat, heading off to your room. As soon as you closed the door your jacket was tossed off, stretching your wings. They were almost completely black now, and your flight feathers had grown in. You just lay on your stomach letting your wings stretch out.  
The door clicked open and you looked over just as it opened. "What's ta- sorry! Sorry!" Karkat closed the door. You quickly pulled on your jacket, opening the door and walking back to were Karkat sat, head down.  
"You didn't see anything." You grab a slice of pizza, sitting down at the table and going over what you guys had done so far. "So we are supposed to make a poster board of the findings. An ideas?" Karkat stayed head down. "You alright there?"  
"I'm so fucking sorry. Maybe I should just leave."  
"Calm down, it wasn't that bad, plus we need to work on this project so don't leave."  
"All I can't think."  
"Can you stop talking to the table?" Karkat shook his head no, which was actually pretty funny since his head was still down. "Why are you doing that?"  
"I messed up."  
"Not really, just don't mention it for obvious reasons." Karkat still didn't move. "How about we continue tomorrow?"  
"Bye." Karkat left, hint of red on his face.

Karkat would be coming over in forty minutes, so you walk to the store. You were about to hop in line when you spot a big man with a fedora and hat standing by the door.  
"Hello Dave. You buying poster board too?" Tavros asked from behind you.  
"Yeah." You look back over to the big guy.  
"What's wrong? Does he scare you?"  
"No, but I haven't seen him before."  
"Oh, he's my stepdad. He's only here because he wanted to keep me safe since I, uh, stopped wearing my charm."  
"The snake one?"  
"Yeah, I don't want Jade to be allergic to me."  
"So you're still not wearing it?"  
"Yeah, I'm partnered with her for our class' project." You nod, letting him go in front of you in line at the register. Of course mister heart pocket clip just stood outside when Tavros walked out, but time is running short and you have to leave. You walk out, hoping you don't get noticed.  
"Hey, you're Strider's kid right?" You tucked the poster in your bag with Cal. "Kid?" You ran down the alley, burly guy following close behind. The guy was surprisingly fast, and you end up taking loops before noticing an alley with a dead end. You run in, jumping on the dumpster, then up to the fire escape later and swing over the wall with no time to spare. "You little runt."  
"Love to stay and talk, but I've got a project to do." You leave the red faced man and pale faced Tavros behind the metal fence as you hurried back to your apartment. You almost plow over Karkat on your way in. "Sup?"  
"What are you doing?" Karkat asked confused.  
"A casual stroll. Come on, we got this project to do."


	8. Chapter 8

It reached Friday, and you convinced Bro you could not only take care of yourself, but that your aunt did not need to watch you. He said he was going to take you to the store to get a big container of apple juice before you left and you agreed to go with him. You got apple juice, but as the truck drove past your apartment and kept going. "Bro, what are you doing?"  
"Taking you to your aunt's house."  
"What?" You realize too late that your door was locked. "You said I could watch myself."  
"That was until I found out that Deuce lives in our apartment building on Thursday. You get the guest room, yes your aunt knows about you, yes the windows are locked on the outside too, and yes Rose will have friends over tonight and tomorrow, but I asked on short notice."  
"I would say you owe me apple juice, but you just got me a gallon at the store." You frown, sliding down in your seat as you wait for your day to end.  
When the car pulled up, your aunt was already standing in the driveway, excited. "Davey! It's so gold to see you! I mean good." She hugged you as soon as you got out of the car, leading you inside. "Come in, come in!" She lead you inside. The first thing you noticed was Rose glaring at you from the couch.  
"Hey, this wasn't my idea."  
"You know Kanaya is coming over, right?"  
"Okay, so?"  
"Aradia too. And Jade. And Terezi. Nepeta and Feferi and Vriska."  
"Should I be scared?"  
"Very."  
"I'm headed to my room. Try and get me now." You head off to the guest room, locking the door behind you before going on your laptop. You didn't really notice the time fly by, mainly because you were drawing for your comic, but also because you sat comfortably on your bed. You heard a knock on your door and several giggles.  
"Daaaave, open the dooor!" Vriska sang, the door handle shaking.  
"Don't you dare, I'm naked."  
"I don't see the problem!" Terezi called. At that point you knew you were doomed. Terezi picked the lock with only enough time to pull the blanket on your bed over you.  
"Where'd your shirt go?" Nepeta looked at you confused.  
"What did I tell you? Get out!"  
"I can see your pants cuffs silly, stop joking around!" Feferi smiled.  
You sunk further into your blankets, glaring at Rose. "Rose, seriously, have your sleepover somewhere else."  
"This is my house."  
"No, it's your mom's house."  
"Mom, can Dave join the sleepover?" Rose called down the hall.  
"Sure hon, I'm goina be gone a minute. What movie did you guys want again?"  
"Interview with a Vampire."  
"Alright, I'll be back soon!" You heard the door slam shut.  
"I'm still not joining." You stated.  
"We can drag you then."  
"Why do you want me to join your sleepover?"  
"It'll be fun!" Feferi giggled.  
"Run while you still can." Aradia was wearing the freaky charm.  
"Why are you wearing that?"  
"This one is a little different, so Jade isn't allergic to it. Off course, that was never the problem, was it Dave?" Aradia twirled it, still wearing her red half finger gloves.  
"What are you getting at?"  
"You seriously didn't notice that for two days you left a feather trail? I know that your complex doesn't allow pets, Sollux told me so."  
"I'm going to guess that there are still people in this room who don't know." Aradia shook her head no. "Was I seriously that bad at hiding?"  
"Don't leave feathers in the bathroom next time." Terezi laughed. You glared at her, but her being blind and you wearing shades basically made it useless.  
"You promised."  
"Still between the lines here."  
"I don't get it. Dave join us." Vriska motioned for you to follow.  
"I'm staying here." At that Vriska picked you up.  
"How did you lose weight?!" Vriska asked confused.  
"Like I know." They proceeded to carry you off against your will to Rose's room, still wrapped up in a blanket. Jade laughed when she saw them carry you in. You stared at her confused.  
"They already knew." Jade's ears flicked down in embarrassment.  
"How?"  
"I seriously haven't seen her be allergic around Tavros or Sollux before. Make up better symptoms next time." Aradia stated.  
"So yours is just a decoy?"  
"No, it works, just not on me."  
"That's impossible."  
"No, it's possible." She tapped you on the shoulder, and you fell over unable to move. "See? Still works, just not as long."  
"So how does it work?"  
"It's keyed into me, so I can't just hand it off to someone else, but it won't effect me." Aradia helped you up into a sitting position with your back against the wall. The only problem was you could see them laughing.  
It was then that you spotted the makeup. "No."  
"Yes." Rose smiled.  
"What did I do to you?"  
"You're part of the sleepover, but don't worry, we will only take a few pictures."  
"Your lucky Aradia has that charm."  
"Your lucky you're here." Rose moved over so Kanaya was in front of you with her makeup box, taking off your shades.  
"Turn of the lights." You squint, eyes burning. The lights flick off and it became obvious who was different, seeing Aradia's and Jade's glowing eyes. A look in the mirror on the far wall and you noticed your eyes were glowing too. Someone turned on Rose's reading lamp, lighting the room dimly. Kanaya set to work putting makeup on you despite your best efforts. By the time she was done you could start feeling your limbs again, so you jumped up and took off down the hall and slipped.  
"You won't have coordination for a while." Aradia helped you up. You looked over to notice she wasn't wearing the charm.  
"So, what are you?"  
"Frog."  
"Cool. Where did you get get your charm?"  
"My step dad, I believe you meet him Monday."  
"The guy with the diamond over his pocket?"  
"If he hunts people like us, why hasn't he taken you out?"  
"He found me as a baby, and he knew about me, but I would be useless until I turned sixteen. He started to care and when I turned sixteen he had a plan to convince Slick to let me stay, so I'm still here." It made sense now why Aradia changed so much from her cheerful self to sad; she had to go through this. It just made you glad you and Jade didn't end up like that, but now you were concerned. If you knew Slick, he was a stubborn and hated nonhumans enough he wouldn't just let something like this go.  
It was that moment that your aunt slammed open the door. "I got the movie!" Your aunt had the movie in one hand and a bag of alcohol in the other. Actually, you're sure they wanted a vampire movie, but your aunt had Harry Potter. "Dave, where did your shirt go?"  
"I turned it into a cat."  
"Better get that cat then. Nice makeup." Your aunt headed off to her room.  
"Sweet, which movie did she get!" Vriska asked.  
"You knew she would get a different movie?" You stare confused.  
"Duh red eyes, she always does. Not once has she gotten the movie she starts looking for."  
"Don't call me red eyes."  
"Oh, I'm sorry! I guess I'll call you your other eye color." You go back into Rose's room and grab your shades before walking back down the hall. Everyone had soda and candy while Rose popped the popcorn.  
"It's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets!" Nepeta jumped on the couch, giggling.  
"What is it Dave? Expecting something else?" Rose smirked  
"Seeing as it's your party, I thought there would be black magic or some shit."  
"No, that's for Tuesdays."


	9. Chapter 9

You woke up with Feferi and Nepeta under your wings like a blanket. You didn't want to wake them up, so you stay laying on the pillow covered floor. The movie marathon had lasted well past midnight, but you lost consciousness and fell asleep around one in the morning.  
You eventually slip away without waking the two, noticing the feathers scattered around them. You decide to check your wings again, sitting at the counter before looking over your wings, but you ended up trying to straighten them slightly. Your aunt must have an embarrassing moment sensor, because she came stumbling in.  
"Hey Davey!" She caught sight of you quickly," Sorry to inerupt your preening, but can ya help me make breakfast?"  
You tuck your wings back quickly," Sure." You basically made breakfast, which was pancakes, because your aunt was already drinking again. You don't know why, but your aunt seemed to be immune to hangovers, which she should be having by now if she was a regular person.  
"Thanks for helping. You should probably get a shirt." She then sipped her drink again.  
"Shirts mess up my feathers."  
"I got an idea." Your aunt walked of, then came back with a tank top. "I'll cut some holes in the back for ya' then bam! Comfy shit. I mean shirt." Your aunt cut holes in it and it worked. Wait, why didn't you think of that?

You couldn't stop wondering how Aradia managed to be around still. There had to be something Slick demanded for Aradia to live, but what? You would sneak out but the windows are locked and there were only two doors out, both of which were being watched. You walk around, checking the windows (no Aunt Lalonde, I'm not checking windows, I'm looking for my iPod) until you found a room. Actually, your aunt hadn't double locked her rooms windows, but she was on the second floor and you didn't know how to fly.  
You jump anyway, and flying comes easier to you than you thought. You had almost no clue where she was, so you just followed mister diamond pocket from the skies to his home. Now that you thought about it, your eyesight was crazy good. Your aunt must have gone to bed by now, so you were just going to check on Aradia, head home, and sneak in with the key she hid under her cat figure by the door. Flawless plan if you did say so yourself.  
You landed silently on the roof of the large house, slipping down to just above the window. You peeked in, realizing it was an office moved to the next one. You found Aradia hugging her ram/dog plush thing while staring at the ceiling. She seemed alright, but then you spotted the cut on her foot. Now that you noticed, she wasn't wearing gloves either, showing that her toes and fingers had webbing that definitely was frog like.  
She turned over and spotted you, opening the window. "What are you doing here?" Aradia looked back at her door," If my step dad spots you you're dead."  
"I know Slick wouldn't just let you live, so I wanted to see what was going on."  
"I can protect myself."  
"So something is going on."  
"This is not your concern Dave."  
"We might not be the best of friends, but I'm still worried about you."  
"My step dad will kill you! Get out!" She turned, seemingly hearing something. "Get out! Get out! Go now!" She tried shoving you, but your pant's cuff got caught on the windowsill. She looked around her room, but ended up shoving you out the window to dangle by your ankle. "Hold on and stay quiet!" She closed her window.  
You could hear an argument start up shortly after, but you felt calm for some reason. You stared off into the distance, wings hanging along with your arms. Damn your clothes were strong. Eventually the window reopened and Aradia helped you in before working on getting your cuff unstuck.  
"Dave, you need to leave before he comes back." Aradia hacked away as she kept looking over to check on the door.  
"I know how to get away, but I want to know what's going on."  
"I help hunt down idiots like you!" Aradia glared at him," I can spot denizen gifts easily because of my ability, and look at you! Abilities still inactive, barely able to fly and walking right into a death trap knowingly. I don't want you to die, so you need to get out!" She still couldn't get you free, but both of you could hear someone coming down the hall. You pulled against the windowsill, wings starting to go into panic mode as Aradia tugged too, sending you two tumbling back as the window slammed shut.  
The door opened moments later and Aradia's step dad stood there. "Well if it isn't Strider's runt. Where is your little guard now?"  
"What guard?"  
"You didn't know? Oh well." The man stepped forward, grabbing your wrist and tugging you up. You were helpless, knowing the all too familiar loss of feeling.  
"Leave him alone." Aradia stated.  
"Why, is he your friend?"  
"He's here because he's worried about me."  
"Slick spotted him here, but I'll see what I can do."  
"Dad, please talk him out of it."  
"I'll try." You were tossed over his shoulder as he walked down the hall, barely spotting Aradia's concerned expression as you were carried off. "Dammit, why did you have to be her friend?"  
"Because she's cool."  
"Can't argue with that."  
"Hey, what's your name?"  
"Droog, yours?"  
"Dave."  
"Alright Dave, keep your mouth shut and I might get you out with a few scratches, talk and you might be dead. Slick only listens so much and I don't need you digging a deeper hole." Droog stopped in front of a door, unlocking it before heading down the steps into what seemed to be a basement. Deuce, Slick, and Tavros' step dad stood around the big round table Droog dumped you onto.  
"Finally got this runt!" Slick grinned," So, what's your ability?"  
"Aradia said his ability is still inactive." Droog mentions.  
"Seriously? Better speed this up then. Boxcars, Duece! You know your positions." You were forced into a sitting position with your arms and wings held firmly behind your back, legs tucked under you. You noticed Droog walk up with something spiraled green and red, edges covered in spiked vines and dark flowers.

"Sorry kid." Droog mumbled, holding it right in front of you. Your head started to spin, and very quickly your vision was tossed into a chaos of colors and darkness as everything grew too warm to handle. You tried to fight back only to feel the tight stabbing grip on your wrists and wings whenever you moved. You felt like someone lit you on fire and hit you with a car.

Suddenly your vision snapped back as you sank back into the inability to move again, exhausted and dazed. "I've never seen something like _that_ before!" Deuce exclaimed.

"His ability is to rare to kill him off boss." Droog stated," It's only been seen two other recorded times as far as I know."

"I knew it had to be rare, but that rare? This kid isn't going anywhere." Slick turned to Droog," Imagine when he gets older!"

"What's going on?" You asked, looking between the two in front of you.

"You have the strongest ability I've ever seen. I almost can't believe you have the control of reversal flames." Droog replied.

"Of what?"

"Think of a phoenix; reborn in flames. You unwind the damage and gain strength from flames. I wanted to off you, but the plans have changed." Droog motioned to the ones behind you. They let go, but seeing as how they had charms you couldn't hold yourself up.

"Lock 'im up! Can't let our catch get away." Slick stopped at the sound of heavy knocking on the door. "I swear if it's the girl..." He grumbled as he walked up the steps.

Suddenly there was laughter, high pitch and continuous. You saw Slick come sliding down the steps followed by Cal. You knew it had to be Cal by the clothes, but it was a little boy with messy white hair and blue eyes. Cal suddenly was next to you, and feeling returned to you enough to stand up. You ran up the steps, Cal following you after a moment. As soon as he was up the steps he collapsed back into the form you knew. You grabbed him, locking the basement door before running down the halls.

You tried the doors, only to find that the ones leading out were key locked. You spotted a large window overlooking the forest below the house's edge and hearing the basement door realize you have no time left. You charge forward, feeling glass swipe at your arms and legs as you broke through, wings snapping forward as you felt the air whip past. You take off into the air, flying home. Forget your aunt's house, you were headed home.

It was dawn when you landed on the roof of your apartment building, walking to your apartment quickly and locking the door when you arrived. You locked your room's door before making a pile of blankets and pillows on your bed and falling asleep with a tight grip on Cal.


	10. Chapter 10

You woke up to the sound of talking. "I think we did well. Oh man, My sister is calling."  
"It can't be that bad, right?"  
"Hold it Jaspers... Sup?... What?...Cal too huh?... Don't worry, if Cal is with him he will be fine... Rose give you any- hold on, I think he's actually home." You heard a knock on your door. Cal fell from your bed, hitting the door.  
"Cal." You whispered, ducking under a blanket as the door opened.  
"He's here. Thanks for watching him... Yeah, that sounds great. See you soon." Bro hung up, then pulled up the blanket you were under. "Dave? What happened to you?"  
"I snuck out to see if Aradia was okay, but I was caught. Cal broke me out." You realized you had lost your shades. Bro reached out and you moved back, curling your wings around you.  
"You need to get bandaged up."  
"I'm a freak."  
"Your not a freak, your special."  
"You don't get it. I'm a freak, in fact I'm such a freak that even Slick said I was too rare to kill. I don't want to even leave my room."  
"What did you do to make him think that?"  
"I don't know. They pulled out this weird thing and everything felt too hot and my head hurt. They said something about reversal flames."  
"That's incredibly rare, but that doesn't make you a freak. You just hit the ability jackpot, like my friend Jaspers."  
"The guy you were just talking to?"  
"He used to watch Rose when she was little. He can alter existing matter, so he can make his arms stretch or limbs form. He isn't a freak, he's just special, like you." Bro picked you up, walking over to the bathroom.  
"Is he alright?" Jaspers asked.  
"Not sure." Bro set you down on the bathroom counter, pulling out bandages and peroxide. He immediately set to looking over your arms and legs, pulling out bits of glass and cleaning your wounds. You were to exhausted to fight back, letting him check your wounds. He turned looked over your wings before turning you around on the counter. "Can you spread out your wings?" You do, then feel him mess with your wings, so you pull them back in. "You have glass in your wings, stop moving."  
You hated the feeling of hands on your wings, and your wings automatically pulled away even though you needed the glass pulled out. "You need some help Strider?" Jaspers offered.  
"Yeah, can you hold his wings still?" You felt strong hands on your wings before Bro continued to remove glass. You were barely able to stand up afterwords you were so tired. You notice a tall, slim man with black hair, cat ears, and tail. He had purplish-pink eyes and a stare that made you nervous.  
"Hello Dave, my name is Jaspers. I meet you once before when you were four."  
"Hello. Can you stop smiling?"  
"Why?"  
"You teeth are the stuff of nightmares." You eye his sharp cat teeth.  
"I apologize, but I smile when I grow nervous or excited from habit."  
"What's making you nervous, or excited if that's the case?"  
"You must have realized by now that some instincts come with the form."  
It clicked rather quickly," Wait, I'm making you hunt excited, aren't I?"  
"Cat instinct, sorry. I'm sure you are quite the great person to be around, but all I see is weakened prey right now. You took a large hit, and it's surprising you didn't break any bones! I do have control of myself, but please excuse me smiling and don't act on instinct."  
"You mean like the one to back up and run?"  
"Yes, I'm usually in better control but the trip was a harsh one and has worn me down. I'll leave you alone since you need rest as well." Jaspers walked off, curling up on the couch while you opted to head off to your room. Why was your life so weird?

You woke up, and moments later heard heavy pounding on the front door. Bro opened it," Sup' kid?"  
"I need to talk to Dave." You could recognize Sollux's voice anywhere.  
"Is it that important, he's been having a rough day."  
"It'th important!"  
"How important?"  
"He could be kidnapped again!"  
"Get in here kid." Bro closed the door behind Sollux and you ran over, not even caring if he saw your wings. "What's your information?"  
"They know hith routeth and everything, and they plan to get him when he headth for the buth tomorrow. Altho, thomeone thpotted him flying yethterday."  
"Who?"  
Sollux unrolled the newspaper in his hand," A renown thcientitht called Doctor Harvord Thcratch, who apparently thpotted him while taking pictureth of the night thky on the roof of hith houthe a mile from here. He pothted the picture too and claimed he found a trail of blood leading into town."  
Bro looked over to you," You flew home?"  
"It was dark and I couldn't exactly walk down the street." You motion to your assorted cuts and tank top.  
"I lock you in a house with your aunt and you still escape. What am I going to do with you?"  
"Aradia thayth thankth." Sollux smiled," You don't know how much it meant to her that you rithked your neck to check on her. Thee you at thchool, hopefully." Sollux let himself out.  
"When did you learn to fly?" Bro asked.  
"Yesterday when I jumped out the window at my aunt's."  
"You're going to need to tone down the flying. Also, carry Cal on your shoulder when you go to school. In fact, take Cal everywhere with you."  
"What exactly is Cal anyway?"  
"He's an enhanced puppet. He protected me for as long as I can remember until I asked him to keep you safe. Not really sure how he works, but he's safe and reliable."  
"That's really creepy."  
"And now you need him, so you will take him with you when you go out. He will find you anyway, so don't make it harder than it needs to be."  
Another knock sounded, and Bro opened the door. "I brought vodka!" Your aunt came in, Rose close behind. "Jaspers? Is that you?!" Your aunt hugged Jaspers," Oh, Rosey it's Jaspers. You remember him right?"  
"I do. It's so odd to see him again." Rose closed the door as she walked. "Dave, you scared my mom half to death." She punched you and you flapped your wings to stay upright.  
"Stop, I'm still sore." You adjusted the pointy shades you had to wear until you could get new aviators.  
"Oh? Why would that be Dave?" Rose asked," It must have been important."  
"I think escaping is important."  
"Your stay wasn't that bad." Rose glared at you, making you take a step back.  
"It wasn't leaving your house that hurt me, it was escaping Droog's." You flashed your wings, freezing when you heard the hissing of a cat. You tucked your wings away quickly, which caused Jaspers to pounce on you. He quickly comes back to his senses and helps you up.  
"I apologize. I didn't really mean it, it just sort of happened." He smiles while rubbing the back of his head.  
"What's going on?" Rose asked confused.  
"You get the instincts with the form, but I'm a bit worn out and am still on edge, so my grip on control is a little loose."  
"What about Dave?"  
"I'm still stable." You actually weren't sure if you were stable and not going to flip over the edge into bird instinct, but hey. Fake it till you make it.  
"Oh really? So you had total control and decided to toss your wings up like a territorial bird?"  
"Still stable."  
"I doubt that." Rose walked over to Jaspers to talk to him, leaving you to do whatever. You decided to call it a night.

John had yesterday's paper, looking over it," Are you sure you're hiding and not just making enemies?"  
"Can't help that I'm the town star. Even have a guard I'm so popular. Up top Cal." You high five Cal, even if he was the creepiest thing around.  
"Cal doesn't even do anything." John laughed.  
"What are you talking about? He handled four guys on Saturday."  
"Woah, really?"  
"You don't even know Egbert."  
"You're messing with me, aren't you?"  
Karkat leaned forward from in his seat," That's the truth Egbert." Sollux nodded silently.  
"What? How did you escape?"  
"I jumped out a window into the night and made off with the Declaration of Independence." The look on John's face in response is priceless.  
"Phone for you," John smirked," calling bullshit."  
"This is why we're best friends."


	11. Chapter 11

Your investigation has lead you to a section of tenant buildings. The blood trail lead most of the way, with broken blood crusted glass pieces leading the remainder. The tests of the blood gave unbelievable results that were like nothing you had ever seen before, and somewhere during your search you had found a large black feather far bigger than any you had seen before.  
A call rang, and you quickly answered," Hello?"  
"Scratch, I got a tip on where the trail started. It's at the residence of a man named Droog Megido. His neighbors claim that his window overlooking a nearby forest over the cliff is shattered and has hints off blood." Snowman stated calmly.  
"Where is said establishment?"  
"Over on Quarts Melody Lane at the edge of town."  
"Quite the distance for a wounded creature."  
"I agree. I'll update you if I get any more information." The phone hung up.  
"It must live around here. I wonder what it is."

John laughed at you carrying Cal around, but you took no risk of getting caught again. Your walk back home seemed to be taking so long now, either from stress or from comparison to flying. You ran into a man knocking him over, Cal tumbling onto the stranger. "Sorry about that, I didn't notice you." You stood up before holding out a hand to the man.  
"Oh, I apologize as well," the man in the white jacket accepted your help, quickly getting back on his feet. His eyes were vibrant green, almost drawing in your attention. "I believe this puppet is yours?" He held out Cal.  
"Thanks man." His stack of papers and such slipped from his hands. "You must be having a rough day." You get on your knees, helping him pick up his papers. It was then that you noticed one of your feathers and some clear boxes with bloodied glass shards, making you actually look at the pages. It was blood analysis and info on where he thought you might be.  
"Interesting isn't it?" The man brought your attention back to the world of the living," You wouldn't happen to spot anything odd in the area?"  
"Sorry, I just got back from my aunts in time to sleep and go to school."  
"Where does your aunt live?"  
"Light Rain street."  
"I see. Why are there cuts on your hands?" The man asked. Oh no, he was close to guessing!  
"Because I lost control of my life."  
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." You notice Slick and Deuce over the man's shoulder. Time to come up with something. "Where is your guardian?"  
"I live down the block. He's probably home today."  
"Do you mind me accompanying you on the way home?"  
"I don't mind." You walked with the man next to you, noticing the angry look on Slick's face knowing he couldn't mess with you today. "So, what's your name?"  
"Call me Scratch. And your name is?"  
"Dave." You sit Cal on your shoulder.  
"Why do you have a cut on your face?"  
"I slipped." Yeah, you slipped out a closed window.  
"Your puppet has glass stuck in his hat." You check and sure enough a small shard stuck out of his hat.  
"Must be left over from the fight at school." At this point he knew you were lying threw your teeth or he thought you were a maniac. You weren't sure which was better, but it was definitely better than anything Slick could have planned.  
"Oh, I see." You continue walking, going up to the floor you lived on. You knocked on the door, Bro quickly answering.  
"What happened?" Bro asked confused, looking between the two of you.  
"This young man has several scratches and cuts that he seems to avoid talking about. Have you noticed them before?"  
"He should be fine, but thanks for your concern." He pulled you in through the door.  
"Oh, have you noticed anything odd in the area?"  
"Four guys have been acting really strangely. Their names are Droog Megido, Slick Vantas, Deuce Captor, and Boxcars Nitram if you want to know."  
"Thank you for the information. Have a good day." Scratch nodded before walking off.  
Bro shut the door, turning to you," So, what happened?"  
"Slick and Deuce caught up to me when I ran into the guy, but they knew they couldn't act while someone else was around. The guy was looking for me, so I might have given him the impression that I'm emotionally unstable and not who he's trying to find."  
Bro smirked," You know what? Let's go, we're getting ice cream."  
"Sweet."

You had heard the name Droog Megido twice today, so he had to be tied to this creature somehow. Upon seeing the window you confirmed that it had to be the source, looking down the street and noticing the glass shards scattered in the gutter and splatters of dried blood down the street and walkway.  
That boy earlier was either extremely troubled or hiding facts, either way you thought it best to keep an eye on him. In fact you should get onto one of the roofs in that area to keep watch for the elusive creature since that's were the trail ended. You hopped back in your car, driving back to the area where the trail ended and carrying cameras and equipment up to the roof of one of the buildings, setting them up to look all directions. The video fed was recorded and sent to your computer system to review.  
You yourself went to another building's rooftop with night vision googles, waiting for the sun to fall before hoping to spotting the creature yourself.

"It can't be that dangerous. Please let me fly." You plead with Bro, desperate to stretch your wings and go flying.  
"Lil' man, you know that guy is keeping an eye on the area. It's dangerous to fly if someone is looking for you, especially a scientist."  
"I'll carry Cal with me and I'll only fly to the school and back." You even pick Cal up," Come on, I haven't flown in forever."  
"You haven't flown in two days."  
"The only time I've ever flown was two days ago. Even when I was flying for my life it was amazing. Please Bro, please?"  
"I'll pick you up at the school, it's to risky having you flying back. Take Cal with you, get up high and stay up there till I reach the school, got it?"  
"You're the best guardian on the planet." You take off out the door and then up the stairs to the roof, tying your jacket around your neck before flapping your wings as you lifted into the air. The cool air felt great against your cuts and scratches and especially through your hair and feathers as you speed up into the sky.  
Up in the air no one could threaten you and you were too high up for Slick to shot at you if he tried. You had only flown two times and both times you felt safe from the world up in the air. You smiled, letting the breeze carry you until you felt like you could grab the stars.  
Of course you spot cameras on a nearby roof, one of which was staring straight at you. The smile dropped from your face immediately as panic set in. Bro was right, but you were wearing black at night and had black wings, so maybe it wasn't too late to fly out of range?  
You shot straight up into the air, flying higher and higher into the air until you were too far up for a camera to notice you, then flew for the school. You noticed that Scratch guy staring at you with what seemed to be binoculars, so you did the only thing you could; you flew away. You raced all the way to the school without stopping, staying in the air till you saw Bro's truck pull into the school parking lot, landing lightly on the truck bed. You hopped over the edge before opening the door and climbing into the seat.  
"So, how was it?" Bro asked as he started driving back home.  
"Flying is the best feeling in the world."


	12. Chapter 12

Bro decided you could take care of yourself for two days and left you with specific instructions; no flying, always have Cal with you, and limit your time outside the apartment. You argued the flying one, but he promised to take you out of town to fly so no one could spot you when he got back. Flying for a whole weekend? You agreed to the rules quickly.  
You heard a knock at the door and upon opening said door Karkat ran in. "Turn on the news! Any channel right now!" You closed the door while he fumbled with the remote. He really wanted you to watch the news for some reason. When it turned on, the first thing you noticed was blurry dark footage of a flying humanoid figure with a splash of color on its front. You quickly realized the footage was you and the color was your face and Cal.  
"-The creature was also seen by Doctor H. E. Scratch, who was four buildings away. He claimed that it seemed to act puzzled upon seeing the cameras, then took off after seeing h-" you flip threw the news channels, and you were on quite a few. Apparently there was also a thermal camera and some people thought it was a hoax while some thought you were real. The debates on what you were made you a little uneasy, but that was outweighed by how funny you thought they were.  
"This is serious!" Karkat yelled. "Do you realize what's even going on?"  
"Besides a hunt for a angel/alien/monster that half the people believe is a hoax, no. I'm not aloud to fly till Bro gets back anyway, even then it's out of town."  
"They're investigating my building and yours for the 'mystery creature' numbskull!" Karkat quieted down to normal conversation levels," You have four hunters, a scientist, and now several people trying to catch footage of you chasing you down. Scratch isn't stupid and is probably going to guess rather quickly where you are. He already tracked down where the blood trail started and caught video of you in two days of investigation, imagine what can happen in two more."  
"Bro will be ba-" you were interrupted by your phone. "Sup Bro?"  
"I got good news and bad news."  
"Okay?"  
"Bad news is I'm coming home later than expected."  
"Bro."  
"Good news is you can spend the whole week if you want in the mountains flying because winter break."  
"You're the best Bro ever."  
"Stay safe lil' man, see you Friday."  
"See you." You hang up the phone. "Bro will not be back by then, but I still think I can handle it. No flying for a week."  
"You don't seem excited with the idea." Karkat turned the channel to a different news station.  
"Maybe I was looking forward to flying this weekend."  
"Oh, is it really that cool?"  
"Cool isn't even close. With what's going on, flying is one of the only safe times. I get high enough and I can't be shot at, I don't have to think about people bugging me or what a freak I a-" you remember Karkat was listening. "You tell no one. Not even the people who know about me."  
"Why? Did you mean it?"  
"Get out. I have homework."  
"Wait, why? I just want to know."  
"It makes me sound silly, now go." You get into a pushing match with Karkat, trying to get him over to and out the door. You usually could push him out easily, but he really was digging his heels in.  
"What part makes you seem silly?"  
"I don't have time for this, get out." You couldn't seem to get the edge you needed to make him leave.  
"It was the last part wasn't it?"  
"Shut up."  
"So it is the last part?"  
"I said shut up!" You shove Karkat back roughly, sending him into the wall. He didn't look mad or scared, just concerned. It was then you realized you had raised your voice, a look to Karkat and you feel stabs of guilt for hurting your friend. "I didn't mean it. Just leave."  
"But-"  
"Leave. You know the door." You walk to your room, shutting the door behind you. Why did everything seem to go wrong? You heard a knock at the door, yanking a blanket over your head before Karkat proceeded to enter.  
"Dave, what's wrong?"  
"You know what 'leave' means, so leave."  
"What makes you think you're a freak?"  
"If you haven't noticed, I'm being tracked down by people just because I'm different. And just to add on, my death sentence by Slick was changed to capture because apparently my ability is rare."  
"Rare and different don't mean freak, they mean you're unique in a way people think is cool or great or even amazing."  
"You don't have to live with it."  
"That's it! I'm calling Egbert." You hear the beep of his phone, jumping up to stop him. "To late I've got him on speed dial!"  
"Come on, this isn't cool Karkat."  
"I'm cooler than ice." Karkat struggled to keep the phone out of your reach.  
"Hey Karkat!" John's cheery voice sounded.  
"Ha-" A foot was shoved over your mouth as you both toppled over.  
"John, get over to Dave's!" Karkat yelled at the phone.  
"Okay, but why?"  
"Egbert, stop being a dog chasing the tail of your own stupidity and get over here! I'm obviously calling you for an emergency friend session for Dave's well being!"  
"Should I get a first aid kit?"  
"Not that well being, the other one!"  
"I'm on my way!" The phone call ended, only then did Karkat remove his foot from your face.  
"Was that necessary?" You glare at him.  
"Yes."  
"I told you not to tell anyone." You throw a pillow at him.  
"I can't let you hate yourself. Think of it as a favor." The look on his face, that sad look reminded you of when you two first became friends.  
"You seriously aren't thinking I would do that?"  
"Seems like you're headed that way. I can't see that happen to you, and nothing you say will keep me from preventing it."  
"Suit yourself." Several knocks sound at the door. As soon as Karkat leaves, you slowly close the door before climbing out the window. You drop to the alleyway below, landing lightly on your feet as you start down the street. You quickly spot a dried blood splatter, staring at it uncomfortably before walking on.  
You quickly spot the scientist guy, something something Scratch. He also seems to spot you because he immediately heads over. "Dave, correct?"  
"Yeah."  
"Why are you wearing a blanket instead of a shirt?" You remember that you were wearing the blanket like a shawl, so you could stretch your wings. Your tank top had gotten messed up after Jaspers pounced on you, so you hadn't really worn it.  
"Don't judge."  
"It's 27 degrees Fahrenheit. How are you not cold?"  
"I'm used to the cold air."  
"A feather." Scratch picks up a feather trail. You regret not going over your wings today. "It must be from the creature."  
"Why doesn't everyone leave this thing alone? No one has gotten hurt or anything."  
"Dave?"  
"What?"  
"A feather just fell from under your blanket." You look down and immediately realize this. "So, it was you?" You take steps back as he takes steps forward. "The cuts, the glass, that color blur in the footage, it all makes sense!"  
"I didn't want to be trapped for the rest of my life." Your voice cracked as you felt the wall against your wings, even through the blanket. "Please just forget I'm here."  
Scratch held onto your shoulders," Do you realize what I've learned from you? I've learned all sorts of things just from dried blood and feathers!"  
You couldn't feel your legs or arms, and if your blanket wasn't so snugly in place it would have definitely fallen down by now. You still tried desperately to keep up your cool kid fascade, but you were terrified. Scratch had you pinned to a wall, Cal wasn't here, and your friends didn't know where you were because you locked the door and added a chair for good measure. It was then that you remembered your ability.  
"Do you have a lighter?" You asked.  
"Yes, why?" He seemed confused.  
"No reason." You focused on the feeling that had lingered after your abilities had activated. Suddenly you made Scratch's pants burst into flames, making a run for it. "Sorry man, street rules." You called as you made it around the corner and in the building. You made it to the floor you were on when Slick spotted you. "Come on, seriously?"  
"Your lucky I'm not trying to kill you."  
"Isn't there a one time pass or something? The scientist guy is chasing me."  
"You messed up."  
"You think I want to be a freak? Hell no I don't. Please, this one time there's got to be a way for me to walk away without two chasing me."  
"Fine, hold out your hand." Slick waits patiently. You reluctantly hold out your hand only for him to stab it. "There. Bye kid."  
"What the hell?" You hear someone coming, so you race off to your apartment, knocking with your good hand. Sollux opens the door and you can see your friends in your apartment. "What's going on?"


	13. Chapter 13

"John thaid you were feeling down, tho we came to cheer you up. Why are you in the hall wearing a blanket?" Sollux gave you a confused look.  
"Just let me in." You sigh, running in when he steps to the side.  
"What were you doing outside?" Rose asked as she set up monopoly.  
"Getting a tan." You reply as you grab a meter stick and went to your door. Karkat and John were still trying to get into your room. "Hold on, I got it." You hit the chair legs from under the door with the meter stick before unlocking the door, swinging it open with ease. You immediately lock and cover your window before turning around.  
"You snuck out the window? Without a shirt?" Karkat stared at you in confusion," Do you want to get caught?"  
"To late, Scratch saw me. Good news is he probably doesn't know where I live." You heard a knock at the door," Oh wait, he does. Never mind."  
Rose answered the door," Hello, can I help you?"  
"I ran into Dave in the alleyway and would like to talk to his guardian."  
"I'm sorry, but a Dave doesn't live here. You must have gotten the floors mixed up."  
"Ah, I see. Sorry to have interrupted your party."  
"Good day." Rose closed the door, shooting you an concerned look. "Everyone gets a monopoly piece, let's get started. Yes Dave, this includes you."  
"Who plays monopoly with sixteen people?" You know everyone was here, mainly because you saw them.  
"I brought apple juice."  
"I call the thimble."  
"Who the fuck callth the thimble?" Sollux grabbed the car. "Everyone callth the car."  
"Only cool kids call the thimbles. Who's the clue game rope?" You look at the many strange, mismatch pieces on the board. There was the clue rope, metal car, orange life game car, metal horse, cruiser from battleship, metal dog, blue sorry piece, real mouse skull, parcheesi tiger piece, plastic spider, the black chess queen, metal hat, jenga piece, and a crumpled piece of tin foil.  
"I'm the rope!" Terezi jumped up.  
"Who brought an actual mouse skull?"  
"I caught it myself." Nepeta smiled.  
"Who isn't playing?"  
"That would be me. I'm being the banker." Rose stated, handing you the dice," you roll first." Monopoly was hilarious, especially with the mismatch pieces. Turns out the tin foil was actually a piece of Gamzee's pie tin he was using, so it was quickly reveled that Gamzee had brought non-drugged pie for everyone. Terezi brought clue, Tavros the Game of Life, Feferi had Jenga, John brought Sorry, Aradia brought chess, Karkat had parcheesi, and Eridan Battleship. You couldn't believe they had all showed up just because Karkat had called John out of concern, but it was still really cool. No one mentioned you being different once and the night seemed to go on and on.

You woke up in your room, completely tucked in and everything, with Tavros asleep on the mattress that must have been pulled from under the other one you were sleeping on. You sit up to see Aradia passed out on a blanket and pillow under the window, hopping out of bed to head down the hall. Everyone was passed out somewhere, except for John and Jade who seemed to be cooking pancakes.  
"How did you guys get in the fridge?" You ask, amazed they were in one piece.  
"We didn't. John and I got supplies from the store and came back. Why, is the fridge stuck?"  
"No you can open it, it's getting past what's inside that I was concerned with."  
"You still have swords in there?"  
"Yes."  
"And fireworks in the dishwasher?"  
"Of course."  
"Wow Dave."  
"Hey, who doesn't like fireworks?" You hear everyone starting to get up, Nepeta running around in search of her mouse skull. Had to admit, the skull was awesome.  
"I only remember Karkat calling John, so how did everyone else find out?"  
"I called them." John smiled before adding more batter to the pan. The two had made a tall stack of pancakes. "Aradia had to sneak out though, but you left a huge way out."  
"Something good actually came from it? Is the window not patched up yet?"  
"No, he put a patch over the window. I just took it down." Aradia had gotten up," When is your brother coming back?"  
"You mean Bro? He's coming back Friday." You turn your head when you hear the news.  
"-he strange creature was spotted again by H. E. Scratch during a scan around the area he suspected the creature to live with surprising results. Scratch claims he almost caught the elusive creature, and that he is close to captur-" You turn of the screen, already feeling sick from the reminder of yesterday's failed time alone.  
"He's got to be making it up! Purrhaps he accidental chased down a crow, right Dave?" Nepeta looked over to you, but she quickly realized the situation. "He actually was right, wasn't he?"  
You nod before walking back to your room, covering up under blankets again. Why did everything get messed up so badly? "Dave? Please, get up."  
"I'm going out." You hop up, tossing on clothes and hurriedly brushing your wings. A glance around and you spotted Cal on your bed, grabbing him as you headed for the door.  
"Dave, where are you going?" Karkat asked.  
"I'm going out of town. I should reach where I'm headed by sundown."  
"Why?"  
"So I can go flying."  
"Why don't you just come to my house?" Jade said," It's on the edge of town and it's a big farm."  
"Because Bro told me not to fly while he's gone. I don't need your grandpa telling him I broke the rules."  
"I think it's to risky. People are checking the woods, so you should wait until your brother comes back in case something happens."  
"Yeah, besides your plan would use up the whole weekend in travel time. Friday is closer than you think." Feferi smiled.

Friday was so far away. It wasn't even Monday yet and you wanted it to be Friday. You couldn't go outside because Scratch and the midnight crew, since they had getup dark as midnight, were waiting for you. Cal seemed to be practically walking around with you he stayed so close. Your feathers were aggravating to say the least, and messing with your wings besides cleaning was incredible weird to you.  
Your feathers almost seemed like hair that stayed in place better. Actually, this was probably the first time you really looked at them this closely, really checking over them. Your curiosity made you wonder about them, so you actually felt over them. You accidentally pulled out one of your feathers from somewhere in the middle of your wing. It hurt like hell and you rather step on a Lego brick.  
You tried turning on tv twice, but it always turned on to the news, making you uneasy. You just needed a distraction, right? Right? You put on the first movie you grab. It's Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, perfect for the holidays. It doesn't take long for you to switch to another Christmas movie. Frosty the snowman goes on, and you make it almost half way before switching to another, then another, and another. Why were so many Christmas characters rejected by people? So what if they were different, let Rudolph play without having to hide or Buddy dress like an elf or Frosty be alive and if Nick wants to give out toys and talk to animals who cares!  
Your 'distractions' just made everything going on around you stand out. You didn't even want these wings, but here you are, wrapped in them. Why couldn't it be Friday already?  
A knock at the door and you stood up, wrapped in your blanket. Karkat seemed to be checking on you every few hours for some reason. You open the door, but it wasn't Karkat who stood there. "Oh, so you do live here." Scratch smiled. You try slamming the door only for it to hit his foot. He pushed you back, stepping in and closing the door behind him.  
"Can't I watch Christmas movies without worrying about getting kidnapped?" You step back feeling the futon against the back of your legs.  
"I haven't kidnapped you. Not that taking you would be considered kidnapping." He stepped forward.  
You try focusing like you did last time, but nothing happened. "Stopped smoking?"  
"The lighter was my assistants. She kept smoking at work." He shoved you back. Landing like this hurt your wings, catching Scratch's attention as he held you down.  
"Stop it." You pull against his grip on your wrists. You weren't sure if it was because of surprise or skill that he pinned you. The first thing he did was take off your shades. Your wings whipped up as you tried to get him to let go, which only seemed to make him more interested in keeping you pinned as he looked at your wings. A knock sounded at the door.  
Your door was flung open moments later by Karkat. He stared over in shock, quickly ramming into Scratch. Scratch let go of your wrists and you quickly get up, nailing a kick to his jaw. You and Karkat forced him out the door before locking it. "Are you alright?" Karkat asked.  
"Totally." You pass out on the floor.


	14. Chapter 14

You wake up in your room, feeling like you were hit by a semitruck. You heard someone, walking slowly towards them. You look and see that it's Karkat. "You're awake? Next time don't lie, alright?"  
"I didn't lie. I didn't feel like I was hurt."  
"So, why did you pass out?"  
"I don't know. Something made Scratch stronger than me and Cal didn't even react to me being in danger."  
"What?!" Karkat exclaimed," How?"  
"I don't know. I really want to know though."  
"It's probably a charm, but we would have to investigate to be sure."  
"I don't know enough to go looking for it myself, Bro won't be back till Friday, and I don't need Jade getting involved by asking her grandpa for help."  
"Maybe we can strike a deal with my step dad? I know it's the worst choice, but I've got some leverage if I heard you right."  
"Heard me right when?"  
"You said he was reading Terrier Fancy, right?"

"Well, if it isn't the winged freak. Finally given up or did Karkat catch you?" Slick grinned once he saw you and Karkat walk in, door shut behind you.  
"I came here to strike a deal. I need help finding out if Scratch is carrying a charm."  
"Oh? How about I just keep ahold of you so you don't need to find out?"  
"Karkat and I know about your habit of reading Terrier Fancy. Shouldn't have left them on the roof." You toss the bag you were carrying onto the table, terrier magazines scattering across the table. Karkat snapped a picture and quickly sent it and a message to all fifteen of his contacts before nodding.  
"Why you littl-"  
"If you want your associates finding out, go ahead and catch me. It's not like Karkat could stumble upon your habits, it's not like he lives with you."  
Slick glared at you angrily," Well played Strider, well played. You want my help? It'll still cost you, but it shouldn't be to bad."  
"What is it you want?"  
"Blood. If you want my help, you give blood, got it?" He pulled out a knife, tossing it in the mug in front of him before sliding it across the table.  
"You guarantee you'll find out if he has a charm?"  
"I'll even get rid of it for you if he has one. Deal or not?"  
"Deal." You pick up the blade, hesitating before cutting into your palm as you held it over the empty mug. It was creepy to see it, but it was to late to change your mind about cutting your palm. As the blood stopped you turned you pulled your hand away, scooting the cup and knife back across the table with the other hand.  
Slick picked up his phone, already calling someone as he put the cup in the fridge. "Droog, I got us a new job. Find out if Scratch is carrying any charms, and if he does destroy them... He's near my place trying to get the kid right from under us... Don't bring the girl along, it'll just attract attention. Get what you need we start hunting this guy down in ten." He hung up before turning to you. "I'll make sure you get home, hell maybe we'll run into the guy."  
"See you at tomorrow Karkat." You head out the door, Slick walking next to you as you head back to your apartment in the building next door. "Can I ask what the blood is for?"  
"I told you when I meet you, kid."  
You remembered rather quickly. "That's gross."  
"Hey, I don't make the rules, it just works that way."

School. You had Cal in your backpack since Slick stopped chasing you and went after Scratch instead, and since Cal seemed to have no use around Scratch. It was biology class when your teacher made an announcement after receiving a slip. "Dave, go to the nurses office."  
"Huh? Mr. Nak, this makes no sense. Don't you mean principle or dean or even just front office?" You notice John give you a nervous glance.  
"No, it says nurses office, Dave Strider, ASAP." Mr. Nak handed you the slip," Leave your stuff, it shouldn't take long." You walk out the door and head down the hall. Kids were called down to the nurse if people thought they were cutting or caught smoking or had hygiene problems, which you didn't do. Actually, the cuts from the glass probably made someone suspicious, but you weren't explaining those.  
You walked in to find the nurse staring you down. "Dave, sit down for me." You sat down. "There have been several concerns about you, care to explain?"  
"I have no clue what you're talking about Nurse Umber."  
"Cuts, unsafe binding, and panicky behavior; there's plenty to talk about. Dave, what's going on?"  
"I fell out a window and it freaked me out. The window cut me up."  
"That makes sense, but Dave why are you binding with bandages?"  
"How do you know it's not a rumor? I object to this."  
"Dave, I don't care if you bind, I just want you to be healthy. Binding like this can cause nervous and respiratory problems if done too tightly."  
"You still don't know if it's true, your just assuming."  
"A few of your teachers noticed bandage strips hanging from in your shirt on several occasions. You either are binding or avoiding a hospital trip."  
"Have you seen hospital bills?"  
"If you're hurt I can see what I can do."  
"I'm fine. Can I go now?"  
"Not quite. Doctor, what do you think?"  
"I think he's who I was looking for." Scratch stated from behind you. You turn around to face the door only for him to pin you by your wrists.  
"How do you keep finding me?" You tug at his grip, but you can't seem to break free. The nurse decided to walk out of the room.  
"A bit of luck and a bit of knowledge." He kept your wrists pinned with one hand, pulling out tape from his side bag and wrapping your wrists.  
"How are you doing this?"  
"I've caught other birds before." He stated as he proceeded to tape your wrists to a handle on the edge of the medical bed nurse's offices have. Scratch didn't seem to know anything about charms, he just thought it was bird handling skills. You wished Cal worked around this guy, because right now you were freaking out. Your shirt was pulled down your arms as you felt someone undoing the binding around your wings.  
"Hey, stop it!" You tried pulling away, but you couldn't really move. He seemed to be ignoring you, instead pulling out scissors to cut the bandages away. You tugged and pulled and tried desperately to get out of his grip, but it wasn't long before you felt the last few bandages slip off of your wings. As soon as you felt a hand on them you went into panic mode, flapping your wings to make him back off.  
"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you." Scratch stated calmly.  
"That's all that's happened to me so far! What makes you think I'll believe you?" At this point, being the cool kid you are wouldn't help you any, in fact it would probably make it worse. Your wings picked up on this plan, flapping whenever your personal space was intruded. A sharp pain in your left wing made you stop. You look over to see that he wasn't even close to you and in fact was sitting across the room waiting for you to calm down.  
"Is something wrong?" Scratch asked, looking at your wing still partially out unlike the right one.  
"No, just an average day where I don't get held hostage by a psycho." You try folding your left wing in, but it hurt too much. You notice that Scratch now looked concerned. It didn't take long for him to be right next to you, looking over your wing.  
"You have glass in your wing." He stated, forcing your left wing up as he looked.  
"What? I don't have glass in my wing."  
You felt sharp pain again, but moments later a shard of glass was held in front of you, covered in blood. "It was at the base of your left wing." You could just stare. You thought Bro had gotten all the glass out, but then again you hadn't exactly made it easy for him.  
"I still don't trust you."  
"I don't need your trust."


	15. Chapter 15

You manage to tug back hard enough that you finally pull loose of the tape. A jaw kick for Scratch and you were bolting down the hall as fast as you could. You take a run up the stairs before ducking into the guy's bathroom.  
Karkat and Gamzee were having the sloppiest make out you have ever seen on the face of the earth. They quickly realized you were standing there, barely hiding your expression behind your slipping shades. Before you knew it they were standing three feet apart, looking different directions. Karkat had a crayon red blush on his face that you would have laughed at if it weren't for the fact Scratch was chasing you.  
"I'm trying to hide from Scratch." You noticed your wings poking out of your shirt in the mirror, quickly looking back to Karkat and Gamzee. "Do any of you have a way to tie my wings down?"  
"I got it." Gamzee pulled out his shoelaces and handed them over.  
"How is that supposed to work?"  
"Calm down. Karbro, I need your undershirt and boot laces." Gamzee waited for Karkat to take them off and hand them over before pushing you into the handicap stall with Karkat. "I'll distract him if he comes in, you hide Dave's miraculous wings. Try and stay quiet now." Gamzee proceeded to play his guitar lazily, which you have no clue where he got it from.  
"What do I do with this?" Karkat whispered.  
"Use the shirt as a cover and tie it down tight." You pull your shirt off before trying to pull the tight shirt over your wings. It held your wings tight against your back and Karkat tied around the bottom and top of the shirt to keep your feathers from getting loose or your wings from being seen.  
"What are you doing out of class?" Scratches voice almost made you jump, both you and Karkat freezing at the sound of his voice.  
"What do you think?" Gamzee chuckled as he continued to strum.  
"How long have you been in here?"  
"This is my free period, so since twelve I think."  
"Have you seen anyone come in?"  
"Nope, just me in here. You lookin' for someone?"  
"He must have left. Thank you for your offer, but I'm headed back to my office. Have you noticed anything odd?"  
"Yeah, this new blond guy has been hanging around the coffee shop by the arcade."  
"Thank you for the information." You heard Scratch run down the hall. Gamzee continued strumming.  
"Do you think he left the building?" You whispered over your shoulder as Karkat tightened the laces around you.  
"Probably. He doesn't stay one place long." You look over as Karkat text the coffee shop location to Slick before putting it back in his pocket. "Oh, can you not mention me and Gamzee to anyone?"  
"I didn't see anything. I'm going back to class." You head back to class after making sure your wings weren't visible. It was a quick run, but when you tripped a voice echoed after you, Scratch's, and the bell rang. You had no choice but to run for the door.  
Gamzee's plan didn't take into account that your fear had made your abilities kick into over drive, making anyone with a lighter a hazard and open flames would be unpredictable. You knew every lighter's position now, glaringly obvious, but the threat it posed to use your abilities made you keep going. Why did so many fellow students have lighters? You ran out the front doors of the school before making a hard left, desperately avoiding flames. One flame and you were done for.  
You were back to full strength quickly, running down the road as fast as you could. You had to, seeing as how Scratch kept finding you. Over fences, down alleyways, over buildings and across roads, you ran. Even as you left town behind you ran, footfalls thudding through the woods on the edge of town. You only stopped as your muscles screamed in resistance and you watched the sun approach the horizon.  
You might have run too far off.  
No, you definitely ran to far. The edge of the town seemed unbelievably far away for a run in, what your watch said was three hours. Better sign up for track, you could go to state.  
You remembered that you had to get home, but home wasn't safe. You needed to go to school, but school was the reason you ended up here. Your phone buzzed, and with the number being Bro you answered.  
"Lil' man, what's going on? School called, saying you ditched."  
"I was almost kidnapped by Scratch, so I left."  
"That's why you have Cal."  
"Well Cal doesn't work around this guy. He managed to corner me three times now, and he did pretty well every time."  
"Where are you?"  
"I don't know. There are trees, I passed a rusted antique bike a while back, I think I saw some footprints."  
"You got lost in the woods?"  
"I ran until I had to stop to take a break."  
"I was coming back tonight, but I guess I'm spending the night tracking your phone so I can get you."  
"Sorry about that. I lost track of when Scratch stopped chasing me."  
"Dave, climb a tree up high and stay there. I'll come get you as soon as I can, alright?"  
"Got it."  
"See you soon." The phone hung up. You looked around in the dimming forest, deciding to find a tree you thought was strong enough to support your weight. As time ticked by, it became apparent that you were getting hungry and sitting in a tree sucked.  
You spot lights not far off, so you head towards them, sticking to the shadows just in case. The two people seemed happy, hiking in the dark. You followed closely, listening in.  
"I don't know, but do you really think the news was true? I think their silly, looking for a flying creature."  
"Yeah, but look at chupacabra. This thing might be real."  
"Oh really?" Cue you slipping on a tree root. They spun around quickly, spotting you easily. "You scared us! Oh, are you okay?"  
"Yes I'm having a wonderful day, why else be lost in the woods for five hours."  
"Don't you have school?" The man asked.  
"That's not important." You stand up," So, are you guys on a trail or something?"  
"No, we're off trail. If you want you can come with us, since there are bears out here."  
"Oh, cool. So, what's your names?"  
"My name is Red Frog. She's my sister, Green Frog. You are...?"  
"Dave."  
"Well, great to meet you. You've heard the news right? About the flying creature?"  
"Who hasn't?"  
"Many people are looking for the creature, in fact several friends of mine are looking through the forest for it."  
"Really?" Why did you always seem to run into the people looking for you.  
"Yes. Poor little guy, having to deal with all of this."  
"Later." You climb up the nearest tree, staring down when they seemed to call your name.  
"Why are you climbing up the tree?"  
"Because I'm done with being found. I just want some peace and quiet for once, not being pinned and cornered." You continue climbing, having to crane your neck when they call your name again.  
"What do you mean?"  
"I mean go away. I've had enough social interaction for one day."  
"We don't get it."  
"That's it, good bye." You jump down before taking off into the woods. Who cares about bears when you can fly away? You, but you didn't want to stick around. A sharp stabbing pain went off in your ankle as you toppled over, unable to move it. You literally couldn't move your ankle from where it was.  
You end up taking a nap. You wake up the next day, looking at your ankle. It looked like a giant pair of metal jaws clamped on your ankle. Try as you might, they wouldn't come loose no matter how hard you tried, suddenly growing tired and slipping back into sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

You couldn't track Dave's phone. He had gone outside of connection parameters, leaving you only a slight idea of where he could be. John had given you Dave's backpack, which still had lil' Cal inside, and his friends all gave you part of what they saw when he disappeared. Jaspers agreed to help you look for him, and Dave's friends offered to skip school to help you. Harley was going to help you too, since he knew the woods better than anyone.  
You were getting ready to leave when you heard frantic knocks on the door. You open it to see Deuce's kid, Sollux, and Droog's kid, Aradia, standing there. "Come with us right now!" Aradia grabbed your hand, trying to drag you down the hall.  
"What's going on?"  
"It'th Dave!" Sollux exclaimed. You stopped dragging your feet and ran with them out of the building. People crowded in the street as you looked over the crowd. It was then that you spotted Dave.

You had woken up for the second time trapped in a giant bird cage, only wearing your pants and underwear. You noticed the bandage wrapped around your ankle, looking around the back of the pickup truck your metal prison sat in, you noticed to dogs sitting just outside your cage. The white one had black around its eyes, and the black one had white around its eyes. You looked around in panic, realizing your shades were missing.  
Usually this is the worst things could get, but then you noticed the truck was driving threw town, leaving you completely exposed. You noticed a padlock on the cage door, leaving you unable to escape.  
You did something completely unlike you: you cried. You had no hope of escape, everyone saw you as the truck's driver slowly progressed down the street. Your wings did little to hide you, only making it obvious that you were the 'creature' everyone had been looking for. You could barely hear over the roar of the people crowded along the street. You heard a familiar voice, looking up to see Sollux and Aradia run down the street and into your apartment building down the block. As the truck continued, you saw them run back out again, Bro close behind. You pulled your wings back to be sure it was him.  
It was definitely Bro, and he noticed you easily. You saw him do something you had never seen before; you saw the most heartbroken expression in your whole life on his usually emotionless face. You almost couldn't handle it, hiding behind your wings again. You messed up, and now someone was parading you down the street like the catch of the century.  
You had expected this torture to end after the drive through town, but it didn't end. If anything the universe was screaming at you how wrong that guess was. The truck stopped near the center of town, and out hopped the driver.  
If anyone expected a burly mountain man they must have been knocked off their feet, because before you was a tall woman with long fluffy dark hair. "Bec, PM, heel!" The woman snapped at the two dogs. The dogs hopped out of the truck bed before sitting at her heels as she opened the tailgate. Honestly, Scratch could be right next to you and you still wouldn't be as scared as him as you were this woman who was staring you down.  
She grabbed the cage, and your first reaction was to fluff up your wings. "Calm down you lil' shit." She smirked, dragging the cage out.  
"Would you be calm in this situation?!" You try not slipping as the cage shook. The woman stopped, looking back at you.  
"I wouldn't get caught." She smirked as she dragged out the cage, setting it up in the middle of the park where everyone was watching you. At that moment you wished you were dead.  
People were debating what to do with you. Should you be sent to scientist or locked in a zoo or handed over to the military? Very few people wanted you dead, and fewer still wanted you set free. The arguments about you just made you feel more out of place, more like a freak. Several people still referred to you as a creature, not a person.  
As night dragged on, you thought people would leave you, but once again no. To make sure no one dragged you off in the night, several people decided to keep watch of the area. As night fell you were still being watched as the crowd slowly left.  
Some time in the middle of the night you woke up to footsteps approaching, sitting up immediately. You saw it was Bro. You wanted to hug him, but this was an oversized parrot cage and the bars were to close together to do so. Hell, you couldn't even stand up completely. You wrap your fingers around the bars.  
"Dave, are you alright?" Bro held his hand over yours.  
"I messed up, Bro. What if they send me away?"  
"I won't let them."  
"Why are they doing this?"  
"I don't know Dave. I just don't know." You both heard someone coming," I'll come back, alright?"  
"Please don't leave me here!" You yank on the door only to hear the clink of the lock.  
"I have to or they will lock me up too. I can't visit if I'm in jail." He ran fingers threw your hair since you had your head against the side. "I'll be back." Bro left as the other people ran over, your cage swinging back and forth as you tried steading yourself again.  
Later in the night you woke up to lighter footsteps. "How did you get past John?"  
"Everyone is keeping the guard idiots busy so I can talk to you. Dave, we're trying our hardest to get you free. We started rallying kids around town and we even got several adults to join. It's almost unbelievable that Feferi's sister is such a bitch!"  
"Feferi has a sister?"  
"Yeah, the woman who caught you. Everyone calls her 'Condense' because she's a condescending jerk."  
"This sucks."  
"I bet. We'll get you out I promise!"  
"If you get me out, I will do anything. I will sit through all of the crappy movies in the world when I bust out."  
"I better get them ready then." John smiled.  
You heard people coming," Someone's coming."  
"I'll be back later, alright? Oh, I'm supposed to give you this." John pulled a charm out of his pocket, sliding it through the space in the bars," It's a fire charm. Apparently it can't be taken away once you use it."  
"Thank you." You watch as John runs off into the night, seeming to disappear into thin air. The charm in your hands was warm like an open flame and red as your eyes. You slipped it around your neck before slipping slowly into sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

Time went by, and the stares hacked away at what little reassurance you had that you weren't a freak. You kept your wings up constantly, shielding yourself from the constant stares. You had nothing to do, so you looked over your charm. It was the only thing that seemed to keep you sane, and holding it close calmed you down, making the time disappear.  
It wasn't long before people came up before you, tossing water on you. All it did was make you wet. Next they tried speaking to you in what you could only assume was a strange form of Spanish. When that didn't work they went through a handful of other languages, trying to get some sort of reaction. Their strange tests were harmless.  
One day a man in a military uniform came before you, staring you up and down. His name was English from what you heard the other military persons call him. He decided to approach you, glaring in a way many would find intimidating, but not you. It had been several days of glares already and his expression unfazed you.  
"What are you?" English barked.  
"That's the million dollar question, isn't it English?" It was fun how he took offense to this.  
"You think this is a game?"  
"Anything is a game if you try hard enough."  
"What's your name?"  
That caught you off guard," What?"  
"Did I stutter? What's your name?"  
"I know what you said, I'm just surprised someone wants to know my name. It's Dave."  
"Dave, huh? I was expecting something more... unique."  
"My name might have been, but I was adopted as a baby. Sorry to ruin the fun."  
"You seriously don't get the position your in, do you?"  
"I know the situation, but you stop taking things seriously after the fourth day stuck in a parrot cage. It keeps you sane."  
"What's that around your neck?"  
"Could you stop yelling everything? The thing around my neck is a charm necklace. It also is helping me stay sane." English gave you another glare before pounding off.  
It didn't take long for everyone to seem to agree on handing you over to a scientist. You could hear your friends and classmates yelling in protest, and a handful of other yelling for other options. No one wanted you dead anymore, but not enough people wanted you free for you to be let go.  
Scratch stepped forward, and you glared back. If only you had a way to send him running, or to sway the opinion, or to bust free. You felt the charm heat up, like it usually did right before you calmed down. "You're coming with me Dave." Scratch smiled.  
At that moment, you forgot the world around you. You forgot the cage and the crowd and the whole world except for Scratch.  
"Well you know what Scratch? I don't care anymore! This whole town has lost their minds, thinking that I'm not even a person, but another thing for them to fight to control! Was it to much to want to live a normal fucking life? Was it really so hard?" Scratch had an expression of confusion and shock, the two fighting for which there was more of," Fuck me for expecting a normal life! No, instead I have been trapped in a shitty bird cage meant for some unsuspecting pet! Why did I ever think I wasn't a freak?" Scratch took a step back in fear, other voices sounding around you, but you didn't care. "What's wrong Scratch? Can't handle it when I talk back? When I demand another way?"  
You then realized you hadn't been speaking English. You didn't know what it was, but it wasn't English. Your charm snapped, and before you knew it you had busted open the cage as flames danced on the assorted weeds and dead leaves that had been around it. You didn't even feel a thing, stepping through the flames as they lapped at you. Suddenly the dull pain in your ankle was gone as the flames seemed to wipe the wound away.  
You unfurled your cramped wings, suddenly realizing that you had plenty of room. Everyone took a step back, suddenly scared by you. That wasn't what you meant at all. You were just as confused as they were, lost by all the things happening to you. You no longer felt the charm around your neck, but you continued acting intimidating until you had an opening to escape from all the attention.  
The sky was the limit and you decided to take off flying. In moments you raced through the sky, trying to find somewhere to go. It took a while to lose anyone following you before slipping unnoticed into your apartment. For someone who just got out of bird jail, you were really tired, falling asleep in your room for the first time in what felt like forever.

"Dave?" Bro asked, waking you from your nap. You sat up clumsily, still exhausted and sore.  
"Sup, Bro?" You were suddenly in a giant hug, Bro holding you to his chest. "Good to see you too." You mumble, falling asleep with your head on his shoulder.

Knocking at the door woke you up, but Bro motioned to you to stay in your room. You heard him open the door. "Have you seen the bird kid?" Someone asked and Bro slammed the door. You felt terrible, but you got up, heading down the hall.  
"Go back to bed lil' man. You wore yourself out with your transformation the other day." Bro was already leading you down the hall again.  
"Wait, what transformation?"  
"The charm made you get your abilities faster, but it also gave you other things. Something like that wears you out, so back to bed."  
"Can we please get a mirror?"  
"No, now go to sleep."

You woke up again, still sore but feeling much better than earlier. You walked down the hall to the bathroom, closing the door behind you. A large mirror was hanging on the back of the door, which caught you completely off guard. The person in the reflection was covered in markings that almost seemed like tribal symbols, with huge black wings and piercing red eyes almost hidden by white hair. It was you, but your wings looked wider and the markings were new to you, winding along your front. You spun around, noticing then all over.  
You looked like some bringer of death, definitely appearing strong enough to to carry some poor soul off. Even with your tough look, you were still lean, maybe because of bird reasons like needing to be light enough to fly.  
"What the hell?" You walk out of the bathroom, noticing John in the hall.  
"Dave!" John cheered, tackle-hugging you to the ground.  
"I guess I owe you a crappy movie marathon?"  
"I'm just so happy to be around you again. Guess what?"  
"What?"  
"Only Scratch and a few others besides us know who you really are, everyone else thinks you ran away!"  
"So, I can go back to school?"  
"After winter break you can. Oh, I'm going to tell people your awake!" John started messaging your friends, still sitting on top of you.  
"That's cool and all, but can you let me up?"  
"Sorry!" John hopped up, letting you up.  
"Hey, who's mirror is that?"  
"It's Jade's. She thought you might want to see yourself when you woke up." John smiled. You walk into the kitchen to notice pancakes. "Oh, I made pancakes."  
You usually would have made a snark remark, but people didn't really give you anything to eat while you were trapped and transforming had drained most of your energy, so you ate the pancakes. "These taste like heaven."  
"Thanks Dave." John turned to a knock on the door. It's probably Karkat or Sollux, but quick, hide behind something!"  
You dove behind the counter before John answered the door.


	18. Chapter 18

"Thup John?" Sollux stepped in, Karkat walking in quickly behind him. You got up from behind the counter and continued to eat pancakes.  
"You must be hungry Dave." John laughed causing you to look up. "I made fifty pancakes and their almost gone!"  
"Who just makes fifty pancakes?" You ask, realizing you had eaten at least two thirds.  
"Bro said you would be really hungry, so I made you a lot of pancakes."  
"He has right." You basically just finish them of. John has a huge grin on his face and pulls another plate of pancakes out of the microwave. "Holy shit John, where did you get the time to make all these god damn pancakes?"  
"I came over at five this morning and made them. There is fifty on this plate too." John laughed, setting the plate down. They were still warm and everything.  
"How will I ever keep my trim girlish figure if I keep eating pancakes?" You state as you start on the new pancakes before you.  
"You have a six pack and you eat junk food all day, I think you have it covered!" John smiled as he pushed a glass of apple juice your way.  
"You guys want pancakes?" You ask Sollux and Karkat, who seem to be staring at you. "You guys look like you've seen a ghost."  
"Thorry, but I didn't think you would have tho much muthcle or markings." Sollux looked over you.  
"The muscles were already there, the markings are new." Karkat has a hint of red to his face, hands in his pockets.  
"Call some pancakes now before they're gone." You continue to slowly eat all the pancakes.  
"If I even have one of those I'm going to be full all day. You know how John's pancakes are."  
"I guess they aren't effecting me." You slowly are approaching the middle of the stack.  
"Of course not, you haven't eaten in at least a week, plus your whole transform thing you did when you escaped." John grabbed one of the pancakes before another knock sounded at the door. You jumped behind the counter again.  
John checked the door, letting Tavros in. "Why is Dave behind the counter?"  
"Get down, before Charlie sees you." You army crawl slightly into view.  
"Who's Charlie?"  
"We are in the shit now, braving 'nam." You stand up right next to Tavros.  
"Please not this again!" Tavros groaned.  
"That was three years ago." You freeze as you hear another knock, diving behind the counter again.  
Tavros opened the door and in came Rose and Kanaya. "Dave, you are terrible at hiding." Rose stated, walking over.  
"I'm the best hider in the world." You then notice Rose's glance," Okay, that's a lie, but I'm not terrible."  
"Calm your mammary glands Dave, it was meant as a joke. Although, you do fail at hiding as experience has shown." Kanya stated.  
"Stop saying common phrases all weird."  
"Those who hate will continue to hate."  
"I'm going to make you leave."  
"Dave no, that is flagrant homosexuality."  
"Kanaya dear, I think it's best to leave Dave be." Rose smiled before continuing to chuckle.  
"Fina-." A knock interrupted you, and you jumped behind the futon. John answered the door, and Jade ran in with Gamzee and Equius.  
"Dave, why are you behind the couch?" Jade giggled.  
"My shirts won't fit, so I'm hiding behind things whenever someone opens the door."  
"Interesting tale, brother." Kanaya stated.  
"Kanaya please. Stop."  
"Are you frustrated, brother?"  
"I'm not your brother, cut it out."  
"Then engage fighting, brother."  
"Why do you keep calling me brother? Your ticking me off."  
"Why are you so serious?"  
"Rose, make her stop." Another knock and you dive behind the furniture again as someone lets in Feferi. "There has to be a better way than diving behind furniture."  
"It is dangerous to continue," Kanaya wrapped her jacket around you," accept this."  
"Who showed Kanaya the internet?" You exclaim, sitting on the futon still wrapped in her jacket.  
"That would be me." Rose smiled. "Perhaps later we could help you with a better way to hold down your wings? Bandages and jackets only get you so far."  
"I can barely handle you two now, how would I sit through that?"  
"You will need to, since bandages caught attention."  
"Th-" There was another knock, but you didn't have to move from your spot because the jacket covered your wings. In came Nepeta, Aradia and Vriska.  
"Eridan's uncle dragged him off on a uncle-nephew bonding trip." Vriska rolled her eyes," Like taking care of him wasn't enough."  
"Weren't you on a mother-daughter bonding trip?" Kanaya asked.  
"Was, but I fought to stay, so she left when I yelled at her to go with Eridan's uncle on his trip. So much for bonding."  
"Well, what did you say?"  
"'You're not my real mom! My real mom is dead!' And after that she left." Vriska nabbed one of the pancakes. "I swear I could eat a hundred of these."  
"Sorry, but you will no one can get past three except Dave." John smiled," Not even you."  
"Oh really? How many did you eat Dave?"  
"Oh you know, six, seven, sixty-eight."  
"You're joking."  
"I wish I was. John came over at five and made all these god damn pancakes. Who in their right mind goes to someone's house at five in the morning to make pancakes?"  
"John was never in his right mind." Jade laughed. "But John, how many pancakes did you make?"  
"A reasonable amount."  
"John, it stopped being reasonable after twenty-five. How many?"  
"Uh..." John pulled another plate of pancakes out of the microwave," a hundred and fourty-two? I sort of went overboard."  
"Overboard isn't even close." You heard another knock. "Everyone showed up, right?"  
"Yeah. Get behind the counter, we got you covered." Jade and John made it seem like they were finishing pancakes and Karkat answered the door.  
"Why hello again. You wouldn't happen to know the location of your 'friend' now would you? It is very important." Scratch question.  
"Go away fuckface." Karkat growled, slamming the door on Scratch's foot. "Move the foot or I call the cops."  
"About what? Me asking if a runaway's friend knows where he is?"  
"Fine, you asked for it!" Karkat pulled his phone out, only for Scratch to remove his foot from in the door frame. Karkat slammed the door, locking it, before texting his step-dad were Scratch was. He kicked the door again," I know you have your ear against the door, back off!"  
Bro came down the hall. "What's going on?"  
"Scratch is being his creepy fucking self, listening in like a hound for the hunt."  
"Oh hell no." Bro opened the door, katana in his hand," Stop stalking Dave and find some other hobby."  
"I'm not stalking the child."  
"So what do you call following him everywhere and harassing him? Not even detectives would follow him as much as you did, much less pin him or chase him down like what you did."  
"What makes you think that?"  
"He called me when he stopped running from you and he would mutter about it in his sleep. Now go away."  
"Oh re-" Scratch was tackled by Slick mid word.  
"Just this once." Slick stated before Bro closed the door.  
"Dave, care to explain why Slick is helping?" Bro asked.  
"Maybe he thought Scratch was gunning for his catch?"  
"Lil' man, what did you do?"  
"I may or may not have blackmailed Slick into helping me."  
"How did you blackmail him?"  
"I can't tell you as part of the deal."  
"Don't blackmail anyone else. It's illegal." Bro walked off to his room.  
"So, anyone up for movies?" You ask.


	19. Chapter 19

Kanaya made you a sort of corset/binder for your wings, allowing you to hide them better than with bandages. It hurt a lot less too.

Your winter days felt like agony and bro didn't want you leaving the apartment. You agreed, but only because you knew what was waiting in the world just outside. Your dreams grew dark, twisted even as you stared into the blackened void in your sleep, taking off your shades to suddenly hear the voices. The world in your dreams showed you the unexpected, teaching you new tricks that then worked in the waking world where you needed to defend yourself from harm and capture.

Jade tried the charm thing too. Both of you are asleep most of the time, like how Aradia was at thirteen. You started meeting in your dreams, both of you remembering it the next day in such vivid detail it was unbelievable. You adventured threw this dream land together, learning all their was to learn and finding all there was to find. Sometimes you ran into Aradia, and the three of you explored together.

Bro's concern is growing every day, although your calendar claims it has only been five. He's starting to think the dreams are dangerous, and it takes Jaspers to convince him otherwise. It seemed so strange how your dreams taught you so much and gave you the freedom you didn't have, but haunted you enough to make you want to wake up.

You and Jade uncover something unbelievable, and you write it all in the tongue of the denizen gifts once you wake. It was what you had spoken when you escaped and Aradia had been the only one there at the time who understood what you said.

By the time school starts again you aren't sure anymore if you aren't a monster. You meet a Denizen in your dreams, which was were they presided and it had terrified you. You and Jade felt out of place, feeling the need to get away from all these people, but you two also wanted to go to school.

Your schoolmates all asked how you were doing and why you ran. You had no answer for them, eventually ignoring them. Scratch hasn't shown his face at the school yet, and for that your glad but also nervous. It was like waiting for for a bomb to go off or a ride to drop.

By Tuesday Bro realizes that you have gotten insanely strong insanely fast. You are aloud to walk around on your own again, like before this whole mess happened.

Of course, no one just walks away from torment scott free.

In your waking moments you loathed yourself ever since your escape. You hated being a freak to the point you would tear out your own feathers in fits of fear or self hate. Your dreams were your safe haven until you saw _him_, the denizen who was responsible for your abilities. After that you started struggling to stay awake. When Jade meet hers she reacted much calmer, but here constant naps dropped so her sleep schedule was back to normal.

Today is Wednesday, but to you it has felt like weeks since the dreams started, not mere days ago. Fear of getting caught again set in while you were doing homework. Your internal panic made you kick you books off the bed as you shrunk back against the wall of your room. You hoped Bro was out, like all the other times this happened, trying to slow your hasty breaths as the walls shrunk around you.

You could swear you knew someone was coming to get you. You needed to hide, you needed to run, run, no fly, you needed to fly away. Your wings started flapping to keep whoever it was that was after you away, to protect you behind tattered walls of feathers. You felt like a horse was sitting on you, struggling to breath in your panic as you tried finding an invisible enemy. It was then that you started pulling on your feathers, needing something to snap you out of the fear as your wing beats tossed up old torn feathers you had hidden and loose papers.

As you snapped back to the world around you, pounding sounded on your door as you continued trying to breath. The door slammed open and you saw Bro, look off horror on his face when he saw you sitting around in torn out feathers. "Dave, what's going on?" Bro approached slowly, crouching down when he got close.

You realized the situation quickly, looking down at the ground in embarrassment. "Nothing."

"How long have you been doing this?" Bro slowly moved closer, voice low.

"It doesn't matter."

"How long, Dave?"

"Since I escaped." Your voice was barely audible, suddenly feeling ashamed as the words left your mouth. Bro just stared in shock. "I'm sorry Bro, I'm so sorry." You were surprised by the sudden contact as he hugged you tightly.

"No, I'm sorry. I taught you to hide emotion, that it was better to remain silent than voice what was happening. I'm always willing to listen Dave, and no one will change that."

Your shaking now, hugging him tightly as warm tears dripped down your face. "I don't want to be different, Bro," you bury your head in his chest," I want to be normal. Everyone hated me for being different! W-what if they caught me?" You're starting to hiccup as you talk, burying your head more in embarrassment. "D-don't let th-them take me aw-way! I w-won't g-go!"

"I won't let them take you away, Dave." Bro answered softly, running a hand through your hair as he continued to hold you tight. "I promise. Now I want you to promise me something."

"W-what?" You ask quietly.

"I want you to promise you won't pull out your feathers anymore."

"I prom-mise."

Your wings are healing up now, and surprisingly it only took three days. Over those three days you had a handful of your fits were Bro had to calm you down so you wouldn't try ripping out your feathers. Jaspers was over more often to help Bro keep an eye on you, since he couldn't exactly take you to get help. Snapping out of your panic was terrible and left you wondering why it kept happening as you wished you didn't have to see the pain in Bro's face anymore. He cared, but it was him caring that made the bouts of panic feel like your mind was betraying you, setting you up for failure.

You read through several books, now spending time going to the library. Every other book was fiction between the psychology and medical books, finding that they helped keep your panic down by distracting you. Trauma seemed to have caused you to have panic attacks, which was what the book called the bouts of fear, and staying in a small space seemed to be the trigger to making you remember the incident.

You quickly realized that seeing crows acted as a trigger as well, but only if they looked hurt. It happened on the walk home from the library one night and a scared passerby almost called an ambulance when you curled up in a ball next to a crow with a busted wing. Suddenly trigger warnings made sense, seeing as how triggers only brought painful memories that left you struggling for control.

It didn't take long for your friends to catch on, especially after you saw a bloodied crow at lunch and you switched into panic. It was Jade who talked you down from the panic, who calmed you down, and it was John who told Bro.

As you had more normal dreams, not dreams in the land of denizens, the memories started stalking you in the night. Several times Bro calmed you in the middle of the night so you could get some sleep.

His discussions with Jaspers happened more often, like tonight, trying to find something to help you. "Do you know anyone who knows about denizen gifts who can help him?" Bro asked quietly, but you heard and you sat in the hall listening.

"I know you want to help him, but I'm afraid not. I can ask around in the community to try finding someone, but if can't make any promises."

"I'm scared for him Jaspers. He had attacks coming home from school today, and if Slick hadn't been helping us now he would have kidnapped Dave."

"How long has it been?"

"Seventeen days since his escape."

"No, I meant how long since he has flown?"

"Same amount."

"We should try taking him somewhere safe to fly. I don't know about you, but I've known some flying denizen gifts who are cheered up just by flying and nothing more. It might help him clear his head."

"I don't want him flying unless I know he won't get caught again. The cops can only stop Scratch from doing so much before they catch on."

"I hear you, and I am already coming up with a plan. Why not come out to my house tomorrow? No human really comes out to my neck of the woods, which is exactly why so many denizen gifts swing by. Who knows, maybe one of them will stop by and he will realize he isn't a freak."

"If this helps him I owe you one."

"See you tomorrow."


	20. Chapter 20

You weren't at all surprise when Bro woke you up at dawn to pack for a last minute trip.  
You weren't surprised when he grabbed your thicker jacket instead of your usual.  
And you weren't surprised when he helped you into his truck.  
"I got you donuts for breakfast." He stated when you got in the car to find a box of donuts balancing an the console. "I got a variety, help yourself."  
"I don't want to go flying." You stared down at your feet. "What if someone sees me?"  
"Trust me, if you've been to Jaspers you would know it's safe. No one will see you except maybe another denizen gifts, I promise." He started driving down the road," It's a few hours away, you can take a nap if you want. I'll wake you up when we get close.  
"When we get close? Why not when we get there?"  
"When we get close the road ends and the path continues off road."  
"So...?"  
"So it's going to get bump."  
"I can sleep through it." You actually fell asleep, but a sharp bump woke you up from your talk with Jade. Bro was not kidding when he said the path was off road, but the path didn't even appear to be one. It looked like a bunch of rocks going to a cave. A few sharp, crazy turns later and the car stopped under a tree.  
This place was definitely in the middle of nowhere. There was a large wooden house, partially built into one of the huge trees. Jaspers hopped down from one of the tree branches above, landing lightly on the truck hood. You step out of the truck, immediately feeling a calm breeze swirl past you. There was a patch in the trees open to the sky, only making you feel so strange being on the ground.  
For one of the first times since you got your wings you felt completely safe. You pulled off your jacket and tossed it into the truck bed as you unfurled your wings, feeling the breeze toy with your feathers. Before you knew it you had taken off flying.  
You couldn't believe your brain was betraying you like this, but then you forgot why you started worrying in the first place. Sure flying over the city was cool, but it was amazing flying over the forest. You could almost spot were the road to Jaspers home ended, old roadway cracked and worn to almost just a pathway. Time went by faster than you expected, but watching the sunset from the air was amazing.  
You landed when it got dark, exhausted from flying for so long. It was amazing out here, and your thoughts always went back to the sky as you stared at it from your spot in a tree branch hanging from the tree that supported Jaspers' house. "You might want to come in Dave, dinner is ready." Jaspers stated, looking up at you from the top of his house.  
"I think I'm going to stay up here." You stare at the starry night sky. You here a rustle of leaves and look over to see Jaspers up on the branch. "I don't think this branch is strong enough to hold us both up."  
"You shouldn't weigh that much and if the weight is too much I'll shrink down."  
"You can do that?"  
"Yes. I can grow and stretch and shrink as part of my ability. I've even learned how to make it seem like I've changed into a cat." He then shrunk into a black house cat, but he still had human purplish-pink eyes.  
"How do you do that?"  
"I make certain things stretch and change size accordingly. I'm not turning into a cat, I just look like one."  
"That's still boss."  
"Like how your abilities are 'boss'."  
"No, my abilities are fire. All they can really do is burn stuff."  
"That's because you don't have total control of them yet. If you practiced more you could see all your abilities' sides, not just the main options."  
"How am I supposed to practice? I live in an apartment."  
"Practice in your dreams, which means you need to sleep Dave instead of ease dropping on conversations at one in the morning." He had heard you in the hallway before the trip. "You need to learn your abilities, know them inside and out, then you can use them in ways you never would have thought possible before."  
"How long did it take you to figure out the cat trick?"  
"Two years. I practiced them only while I was awake back them though, partially because the denizens scared me."  
"Yeah, their really... different."  
"They mean no harm, so don't be afraid of them, just sometimes they come off as something more threatening."  
"Yeah, I know what you mean."  
"Come on, let's get dinner."

You fell asleep, walking down the strange cobbled path to find Jade. "Sup'?"  
She came over to you, smiling," Hi Dave! Your here really early."  
"Jaspers told me to practice my ability more so I can know them inside-out. Since I'm currently in a forest, that wouldn't be a good idea."  
"Good thing here isn't a forest." Jade motioned to the hardened sand houses and buildings carved into the rocky shore.  
"I know right? Last thing we need is to set a house on fire."  
"Yup, that would suck!" She got back so you could practice. You focused on your abilities, letting flames come up, but losing focus as you heard someone coming. Both you and Jade watched the figure approach, realizing it was Aradia. She stumbled and you both ran over to her, helping her up.  
"Lava..." She coughed. Burn marks ran down one of her arms and up her legs, and all you could think was what had happened. "Dave, use your ability..." Aradia seemed to be in a dazed state, not waking up/falling asleep.  
"I make flames, and the only time I healed anything was my own ankle a while back."  
"Try..." With that you focused, but at first you thought it was getting worse then when you started. Slowly you manipulated the flame, and it carefully lapped at Aradia's burns. It was like watching a video on reverse, the burns going away the way that they formed. You almost couldn't believe that you healed someone besides yourself.  
"It worked?" You stated aloud as Aradia stood back up, seemingly full of energy again.  
"Yes, why?" She looked over, red eyes reflecting the last of the flames.  
"I've never tried it on someone else before."  
"I couldn't even tell." She gave a smile before hopping onto one of the sand houses," Well, come on, I want to show you guys something!" Aradia hopped to the next sand house. It still took some getting use to to see her so cheery in this dream world when she seems so sad in the waking world. You and Jade race after her, you flying and Jade jumping house to house with Aradia.  
You three quickly approach one of the main cities, this one being of shadowy purple. The main cities were always shadowy purple or golden yellow, why you weren't sure, but it just worked that way. Aradia jumped in through a tower window, continuing up the spiraled stairwell, you and Jade close behind. When you reached the top, you found two sleeping kids.  
This wouldn't have meant much, except the faces were familiar to you. You saw Rose and Nepeta, sleeping soundly on their purple beds much like how you woke up in yours, except you had been alone. "Huh? Why are they here? Are other non denizen gifts here?" You ask confused, but also interested.  
"Might be, but not many. I have found many of our other friends, but I have no idea why. As far as I know, most of us weren't raised by our parents, so they might have been denizen gifts. I still don't get why for John and Rose though." Aradia turned to look back at you and Jade.  
"So, what does this mean?"  
"I don't know, but maybe you can help me?"  
"The sand cave libraries seem a good place to start." You respond, Aradia smiling and leading the way back to were you started, hopping rooftops all the way to the library. "I think we should check lore and any books that are definitely from here." You state. Books that were purely from here had odd features like seaweed or leaf or stone sheet pages bound by anything from rocks to vegetation or hides and always had strange decorative markings on front in place of an actual book title.  
You spend the night reading away with Jade and Aradia until you all wake up/sleep.

You woke up later in the morning, almost forgetting that you were at Jaspers. You hop out of bed, though it was less a bed and more a pile of blankets and pillows, and start walking over towards the door. "Sup' lil' man?" Bro asked.  
"Aradia helped me learn something."  
"What did you learn?"  
"I can use the weird healing thing with the flames on other people. Hey, can I ask you something?"  
"Anything."  
"Is Rose related to any denizen gifts?"  
"Yes, but her dad died and her brother wanted to remain unknown incase he died."  
"Who's Rose's brother?"  
"I'm not telling you."  
"I won't tell her."  
"Yes you will."  
"Okay fine, don't tell me." You head for the door, already ready to fly.  
"Hey, eat breakfast first."


	21. Chapter 21

You almost couldn't believe that flying had helped you so much. It didn't make any sense to you, but it pulled your head back into the world around you. News said Scratch had been kidnapped and escaped from an abandoned warehouse, but he lost his cue ball shard he carried around for good luck. Since Slick had dragged him off, you guessed the cue ball shard was the charm that disabled you. Apparently he had more, because the guy had gotten the shard from breaking his lucky cue ball. You have never hated someone so much in your life.  
You and Jade headed to the city's archive to look up family histories when she slipped. Her ear poked out of her headband and you quickly block her from view. Of course, Scratch had been following you, and you only noticed him when you helped Jade to keep her from being found out. As soon as you had helped her up, you noticed Scratch get closer.  
You both continue towards the library, only to find that Scratch was still following you two, seeming to find you both interesting. You whisper at a level you know only Jade could hear," Split up, if he starts following you we know he saw." She gives an almost unnoticeable nod before you two walk different ways. Almost immediately you notice Scratch following Jade as she tries to walk off down a shortcut.  
You go after them, listening in to what Scratch did. Jade turned around," Why are you following me?" She demanded.  
"I think a better question is why you have dog ears."  
"Run!" You call over to Jade, catching Scratch's attention. You run, Scratch hot on your heels as you take off down the street. You couldn't seem to shake him and every corner and slow in speed just brought him closer and closer. Then you spotted Jade.  
You couldn't let her get caught, but if you tried turning or running it wouldn't work because Scratch would just chase Jade. Scratch had a way with words that he could probably talk himself out of anything you claimed he could be up to, and you knew it. You knew if he caught you your secret would be reveled, but would it give Jade time to escape?  
You knew she could see what you were thinking written clear as day across your face. She knew even if she ran now that Scratch would still chase her down. In his eyes she was a new specimen to find, and you couldn't let her face what you did, no matter how strong she thought she was. But maybe you could give her time to get away without being reveled?  
You stop in the middle of the street, getting the attention of the officer waiting to drive. "Kid, get out of the road, it isn't safe."  
"Help, I'm being chased a creep who attacked me!"  
"What?!" The cop hopped out of his car immediately, quickly noticing Scratch. "You mean Scratch? He's harmless, a gentleman even, you must have misunderstood."  
"So pinning people to walls isn't bad?"  
That got the cop's attention. "He what?"  
"He's been stalking me and he pinned me to a wall."  
The cop immediately motioned to Scratch to come over. "Have you been stalking this kid?"  
"He's the black winged creature." Scratch stated.  
"No I'm not."  
"Prove it."  
You lift your shirt, showing your wing binder. It kept your wings completely covered except the top part, but you your shirt and jacket still had that covered. "This binder is so I can be a guy, Scratch messed up my old one."  
"You can't assault people!" The cop was really angry," Especially minors. Just because he's trans doesn't give you an excuse."  
"If it's a binder for breasts then why is it tied down the front?"  
"Nobody's perfect." You state as you drop your shirt back down.  
"You were born male."  
"You think so? This binder is really working."  
"This isn't adding up." The cop stated," What's your name kid?"  
"P. Sherman."  
"I know that's not your real name. What's your real name?" You tense up. Scratch was already turning this against you and you just started.  
"Dave."  
"Wait a minute, you actually sound like the winged kid." And cue you running down the street like a mad man. Unfortunately you were running through an intersection and someone hit you in the side with a car. It didn't take long for owner of said car to step out and oh shit it's English, the one guy who would really recognize you. It didn't even take him two seconds before he had you by the collar, calling someone.  
Note to self, never use your real name, ever. Now was a little late for that, but you get the picture. You struggled in his grip, trying to pull free. You slip out of your shirt, feeling a bit exposed, and landed a kick to the back of English's legs. The guy doesn't even fucking wobble, so you spark an ember on his clothes before running down the street. He quickly caught on fire and you dodged into an alleyway with Scratch and the cop running after you. You ran straight towards the wall, bouncing off it over their heads before taking off down the street again. Of course it didn't seem to give you much distance, but it worked enough. You raced down the street, making a turn and tucking into an alley as the two barreled past only for the cop to spot you and turn around.  
You bolted down the street jumping car roof to car roof like the majestic stallion you are before hopping off near a bar. It seemed like a perfect place to hide, especially since drunk people might over look you. You ran inside, walking casually. "Hey kid, you need shirt?" You turn around as an oversized shirt is tossed your way. The woman had her hair pinned into a bun by two sticks, motioning for you to come over. "What you doing in my bar kid?"  
"I'm running from some people."  
"Welcome to the club. Everyone here running from something, but you look a bit young for alcohol, so I suggest another place."  
"Please, if I go outside now Scratch will catch me."  
"Scratch? You stay right here, kid. Stay as long as you need." The woman went back to mixing a drink for someone.  
You felt someone place a hand on your shoulder. "Hey Handmaid! Imma escort this kid out." A voice from right behind you called. You knew that voice. You turn to see the woman who had parade you around town in a parrot cage. Why did this keep happening? You didn't even want to try an ember in this place. Alcohol was everywhere, basically making this place a powder keg ready to blow.  
"Hey, someone challenged the Demoness!" A drunk voice yelled. Several of the people around the bar were exchanging bets.  
"Going to back that?" Demoness pulled out two sticks from her dress pocket. No, not sticks, they were wands. Light flickered and danced from their tips.  
"Bring it on, witch!" Condense growled, charging forward. She was thrown back, cracking the frame she hit. This woman just brushed it off before hopping up again, throwing a knife at the barkeep.  
"Run kid!" Demoness yelled over to you as she sent Condense once again flying back. You take no time running out of the back door and down the street. You saw Bro walking out of the grocery store, walking over. It was then that metal clanged down around you, trapping you in a giant metal cage. You heard people clamber around in shock. Bro immediately tried running over, but a military officer guy pushed him back, yelling at him.  
A couple lights flick on and before you know it your trying to get as far away from everyone as much as possible. Everything seemed so chaotic and loud, your ears picking up Bro's muffled voice amid the ever moving crowd. "Bro!" You shouted in panic, unable to get close to the edges of your prison to even try melting the metal.  
Your metal prison was being approached by someone with a gun. Your heart raced as you backed away. At least Jade had gotten away, at least you had saved her, at least- you notice the look on Bro's face as he seems to say something, but your hearing is now starting to fade as your whole body goes numb. You collapse to the ground, eyes slowly closing as you struggle to stay awake.  
You didn't save anyone.  
You were just a freak.  
You were no hero.


	22. NoteChapter 22

**Authors note: Sorry for not updating! I had no wifi, so I couldn't update. Please except five new chapters in apology. I'll start updating regularly again soon, which means in a few days. Enjoy :)**

You woke up in the dream world, fighting yourself to wake up/fall asleep. You are trying so hard, and yet you were still here. "Why is this happening?"  
"I don't know Dave. What happened?" Aradia asked from right behind you.  
"I think... I was just captured." You stare down at your feet.  
"What?" Aradia dropped her smile, now looking at you with concern.  
"Scratch almost caught Jade when we were headed to check the family trees of the town, so I lead them away. Am I dead?"  
"No, your alive. I would know if you were dead. They must have tranquillized you."  
"What kind of world do we live in were a guy can't even go to the library without getting attacked?" You notice her eyes flicker between glowing and normal. "Are you doing you're weird dream-or-dead median thing again?"  
"Yes. I'm sitting in your room, I hope you don't mind," she smiled," oh, and Bro asks how you feel."  
"I feel fine. Let's hope it stays that way."  
"He saws he's sorry he didn't save you."  
"Tell him it wasn't his fault, but mine. I really messed up."  
"John says hi."  
"Tell him that he's going to have to wait for that crappy movie marathon until I bust out of bird kid jail."  
"He's laughing, wonders if you could also watch Con Air?"  
"Yes, I said crappy movie marathon."  
"He called you a lil' shit."  
"Are they all okay?"  
"Yes, they are worried about you though. Jade and I will try keeping an eye out for you whenever you fall asleep."  
"How can you do that if you have school?"  
"Easy." Aradia pulled a red frog from her pocket, handing it to you," Carry this. When you wake up it will still stay with your dream self so I can keep track of you. It's life force is so odd I can't miss it and it's croak is strange as well and noticeable even when I'm awake. I will just do my median thing during school hours if you are here then."  
"So, you're like my dream fairy?"  
"Yes."  
"Cool."  
"How about we go exploring? You're probably going to be asleep awhile."  
"Hey, is your median thing between dreams part of your ability?"  
"Sadly yes, otherwise I would have taught it to you and Jade by now."  
"Oh. Well, let's go." Aradia smiled, leading you off to the edge of a volcano. It was huge, filled with molten lava, but a large city was built out of the lava. Unlike the shy turtles on the beach, the city was full of bustling crocodiles running all over town. You had to carry Aradia over to the city, apparently a failed jump attempt was how she had burnt herself last time you had seen her, but you both landed softly on the metal grate.  
Surprisingly it didn't burn your bare feet, and that's when you hear the music. This crocodiles were playing what almost seemed like club music from the buildings, probably as a way to not hear the ticking of the hundreds of clocks spread through town and the turn of several of the large gears. You and Aradia track down the library, reading away until the strange felling of the tranquilizers wore off. "Aradia, I'll carry you back, I think I'm waking up." You both head out, you carrying her back across the volcano to solid ground, landing as you wake up/fall asleep.

You sit up in a large clear cylinder, wide enough for you to stretch you wings but not to fly. It sat in the middle of a white room, two people working away on computers around you, and you try figuring out who caught you, military or Scratch? Both seemed likely, but you really hoped that wasn't the case. The door swung open, in came a man who reminded you of Karkat with a woman who looked like adult Nepeta, both wearing white lab coats.  
"Hello there, Dave is it?" Man Karkat asked loudly.  
"You don't have to be so loud, I've got good hearing." You sigh," Yes, I'm Dave."  
"We just need to prove you're not a threat and you can probably go home."  
You almost couldn't believe it. "They would let me go home?"  
"Well, yes. You are a minor and you haven't caused any problems except setting someone's pants on fire, which you shouldn't do, just for future note. It made getting English agree with me all the harder."  
"You must have a way with words."  
"Quite."  
"What's your names?"  
"Mine is stupid, so just call me Signless."  
"I want to use a nickname too. Call me Disciple!" The Nepeta look alike smiled," Oh, couldn't he also call you Sufferer since you have to deal with English?"  
"He's not that bad."  
"Oh yeth he ith." The man at the computer called out, receiving a laugh from the woman.  
"Honestly, you could talk people into believing anything and English is a struggle for you." The woman laughed, spinning around in her chair to look at you. "Be glad he wants to help you and not tear you apart like that ass Scratch."  
"Hell fucking yes. Thanks Signless."  
"No problem. I'm going to let you out, but understand that if you leave the room without permission English will be harder to convince you should be let go. He's just a stickler for following orders, so please work with us so you can leave sooner." With that Signless hit a few buttons and the cylinder lifted enough for you to get out.  
You're nails clicked against the linoleum floor, making you look at them. You now realize that you never looked at your feet directly since your escape. You're feet looked more like bird feet. How did you not notice this, even through your socks?  
"You seem surprised. Is something wrong?" Signless asked.  
"I'm just not used to hearing nails against flooring. It's really quiet in here."  
"Oh, alright. I'm going to ask you some questions, please answer the best you can." He pulled out a clipboard," When did you get tattoos?"  
"Oh, these aren't tattoos." You hear the two typing stop, their chairs spin around.  
"They aren't?"  
"No, they kind of just formed on my skin."  
"What's your natural hair color?"  
"This is my natural hair color, white."  
"Interesting. Same with your eyes?"  
"Yes, my eyes are naturally red, are yours?"  
"Yes, I don't have the genetics for eye pigmentation. Do you molt?"  
"Yes, but that might have just been me growing."  
"What's it like? It's not something on the clipboard, I'm just curious."  
"It itches really bad, it's really awkward and it's hard to hide when feathers keep falling out of your shirt."  
"Oh. Sounds awful. How long did it last?"  
"For about a week. It was weird to see my feathers change color."  
"What color were they?"  
"Faded yellow, but I couldn't fly with them then. I tried."  
"Ouch."  
"Yup."  
"How long have you been able to make flames appear?"  
"Since about three weeks ago. Before that I needed a source."  
"Can you demonstrate?" You looked around, noticing the four curious stares.  
"I don't know, can I?"  
"May you please demonstrate?" You flick up flames around you, letting them dance a moment before making them disappear. You see the amazed looks and are confused.  
"What?"  
"That was incredible." Disciple smiled.  
"How do you do it?" The man at the computer asked.  
"I just focus and it will appear. If there is fuel for it I don't have to do as much because it will have its own energy source. That's how mister...?"  
"Everyone here just calls me Helmsman."  
"We call him Psiioniic. I'm Dolorosa."  
"I'm guessing you're scientists to."  
"That's correct."  
"How many people does it take to say I'm safe?"  
"Four. Sorry Dave, you're stuck with us."  
"Can I take a quick nap?"  
"If you want, go right ahead. We will be checking equipment for the next twenty minutes anyway."

"Aradia, you there?" You call out after falling asleep/waking up. Aradia looks over from the crocodile on the volcanos edge she seemed to be talking to.  
"Hello Dave. We're you tranquillized again?"  
"No, I'm taking a power nap. I've got twenty minutes."  
Aradia sets one of the hands of her clock necklace so it will click in twenty minutes," Did you discover anything?"  
"The scientists who got assigned to me said if they can prove I'm not a threat that English will let me go."  
"That's great!" Aradia cheered," I'll tell Bro after you wake up."  
"You're asleep?"  
"It's three in the morning."  
"Did not know that. What's the crocodile saying?"  
"Oh, the crocodile wanted to touch your wings. Denizen gifts are seen as good omens by these guys."  
"Crocodiles only or all the consorts?"  
"Not sure."  
"Alright." You notice the crocodile eyeing your wings. You stretch it out, and the little guy hesitantly touched it. He got really excited and dove into the lava, swimming back to the little town. It was somewhere between mildly creepy and adorable. The consorts, as you, Aradia and Jade started calling them, always seemed excited to see you three. Aradia's clock chimed softly, alerting you that twenty minutes had passed. "See you later."  
"Bye Dave." She smiled.


	23. Chapter 23

You woke up, sitting up from you're spot at the computer desk in someone's wheelie-chair. The timing was basically perfect, because it looks like Disciple was about to wake you up. "Oh, you're up. Come on."  
"So, why are you guys here at three in the morning?"  
Disciple looked completely caught off guard," How did you know what time it is?"  
"I looked..." You realize there was no clock in here and no one had a watch that you could see," Luck guess."  
"You said something about looking."  
"No I didn't."  
"Dave, we don't want to hurt you, we just want to know what's going on. What did you look at?"  
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."  
"I'm talking to a kid with wings who can make fire appear and has naturally occurring tribal markings. I will listen."  
"When I sleep I have some connection to the outside world, but not directly. It's like being able to access information that is usually impossible to find just by going around a dream world to libraries and such."  
She was completely surprised. "Is that why you wanted to sleep?"  
"Yes. I'm trying to talk to someone, but it's next to impossible to get messages to people."  
"How does it work? Talking to people through your dreams, I mean."  
"If they have a form there you can talk to them, but the people there stay asleep. You can still whisper in their ear and they will hear it in real life, but it's really scary for the other person the first time you do it." You weren't telling her the other part, which was talking to your friends who woke up in that world.  
"That's amazing!" Disciple then seemed to think about it. "Am I there? Can you talk to me that way?"  
"Actually, I might know where you are."  
She seemed really excited," I'll tell them not to wake you up! Do it!" With that you fall asleep again.

You were still wondering how Disciple would react to hearing you're voice in her ear. You had tried it with John once and he had literally hidden under his bed until you explained. You quickly reach were you had found Nepeta, climbing down instead of up. Just like the book had said you found another sleeping further down, Disciple.  
You had passed an empty room, pretty sure it had been Rose's long lost brother's room, but that's besides the point. You lean forward, whispering quietly," Can you hear me?" You didn't know how to understand what the other person's response was without waking up/falling asleep, so you whisper again," When I wake up I'll ask where you got your shoelaces. Say you stole them from the president."  
You went up to the empty room, waking up/falling asleep.

You wake up to find the Disciple sitting on her knees surrounded by the other three. You calmly walk over. "Hey Disciple, where did you get you're shoelaces?"  
"I stole them from the president!" She laughed," It worked, I heard you!"  
Signless looked between you two," What's going on?"  
"He can tell people things while he's asleep." Disciple got up. "I wasn't expecting it like that though! It was like you were whispering directly into my ear."  
"Wait, that's what happened? That's why you didn't want us waking him up?" Signless looked between shocked and impressed.  
"Well aren't you jutht a ball of thurpritheth!" Psiioniic laughed," You can do some strange things!"  
"Yup."  
"Dave, can you step on the scale?" Signless tried getting back on track. You stood on the scale, surprised when your weight only rang at around 42 kilograms, or about 92 pounds. You were around 185 centimeters tall, or 6'1". You had a wingspan of around 442 centimeters, or about 14 and a half feet. Metric for science, other measures so you had a general idea.  
You hated their curious stares, only feeling more out of place, but their excitement seemed to outweigh it. They thought your abilities were amazing, commenting how they wished they had them. You felt a little less like a freak.  
"Dave, we're going to take a blood sample then let you go back to sleep, alright?" Dolorosa stated, already getting a syringe ready. You didn't mind getting shots when you needed them, but the needle definitely seemed bigger than you remembered them being. She gently held your arm, drawing the vial. As soon as she stopped you took a step back.  
"So, if I can't leave the room where do I sleep?"  
"We are still trying to convince English you are a person and not just some monster, so you have to sleep where you woke up. I will try convincing him as soon as possible that it isn't necessary to contain you." Signless did not seem happy that he had to put you back in the weird cylinder thing, the look on his face a silent apology. You understood though, that he had no choice, that the other scientists didn't want to either.  
The cylinder wasn't directly on the ground, but rather on a platform raised four feet up from the ground. You didn't like it, but you gave a quick hop up and pulled in your wings. They flipped off the lights as the left, leaving you to sleep.

You fell asleep/woke up, noticing Aradia reading a book near you. She looked up, closing her book,"Hello Dave."  
"So, what did Bro say?"  
"I swear I thought he was going to cry. He was really happy that you might come back."  
"What do you mean might?"  
"I doubt they are just going to let you go. Sure you look human enough to gain their sympathy, you act human enough, you even sound human enough, but if they look past it they will definitely see you're not human. Sentient yes, human no. They don't even have to do much to realize it, even if they overlook appearance a bet they are going to test your blood and realize it then."  
You drop your gave to the floor. What if they were faking it? What if it was just to gain your cooperation? Suddenly the warm room felt much colder. "Did you tell Bro this?"  
"He's still upset that he couldn't save you, so why throw that in his face. You on the other hand need to realize this, because I doubt you're being treated the same as a human in a hospital with an unknown illness would get. I'm half expecting that they have you in a dog crate."  
"Nah, I'm more like Stitch. Locked in some clear cylinder, probably something fire resistant, glowing platform and everything. Just missing people calling me an abomination and referring to me as experiment 626."  
"You definitely grew up on Disney moves." Aradia laughed.  
"Me and Bro watched them ironically."  
"I don't think anyone believes you."  
"If you didn't reference them maybe." Jade stood up from sitting at the end of your bed.  
"I watched them just for reference."  
"Wow Dave, or should we call you 626?" Jade laughed.  
"I prefer Stitch, thank you."  
Aradia and Jade were laughing now, unable to stay straight faced. "Hey, who's room is this anyway?" Jade laughed.  
"I think it might have been Rose's unknown brother's seeing as how there is only one bed. Maybe there is a hint in here who it is?"  
"Rose has a brother?"  
"Yeah, he's and Rose's dad were denizen gifts. Rose doesn't know either, so asking her will be no help. Did you read the family trees and shit?"  
"Yup. John's grandmother was a denizen gifts, but she died the day he was born. Apparently the building collapsed."  
"A crocodile helped me find this book. Apparently everyone here was supposed to be denizen gifts, but someone close to them, like a parent, could pleaded with their denizen to let them be human." Aradia stated.  
"You mean that we might have been normal if someone asked?"  
"Not quite. You're plea would only be heard if you were alive, so you can be here, had the other's best interest in mind, and were doing so for their safety, like in case someone was hunting down denizen gifts in your family."  
"That's probably the case for anyone who ended up being around Slick, but what about the others?"  
"You said Rose's dad died right? What if her brother ran off to protect her and pleaded that she didn't become a denizen gifts?" Jade suggested.  
"Alright, but what about John? The closest to him was his grandma... actually we never took his mom into account."  
Aradia smiled," I believe we have a new case."


	24. Chapter 24

You wake up just as the four scientists from earlier come in. "Hello Dave." Signless smiled, placing a large comforter in his arms on one of the desks. "Sorry you had to stay in there, it's silly and a practically straight from a movie." He hit a few buttons, opening up the cylinder thing and taking a step back.  
You jump to the floor, once again hearing the click of your nails. You're wings ached, but then again you slept on a metal plate in a giant tube. You stretched as you listened to Signless.  
"Sorry to say this, but testing today. It's just checks on your vital signs and seeing the limits of your abilities. That is basically all we are doing for about a week. English is going to try talking to you after that, probably to see if you're not a threat, but you shouldn't have any problems with that. After that you should be home free."  
"Oh, we are still working on getting you out of the containment cell, but seeing as how the release time was argued down to a week from not ever, it might not even matter to English. We got you a comforter though." Disciple cheered.  
"Dave, come here." Psiioniic motioned for you to come over. As you approached you noticed he had weird patches with what seemed to be wires poking out. "It'th to read your vitalth. Don't worry, it doethn't hurt." You gave him a questioning glance. "If it hurtth I'll get you lunch inthtead of the groth fathility food."  
"Sounds like a deal." He attached the patches to your chest, which made you pull back twice, checking his computer to see if they were working. Several little charts had sprung to life, showing different rates and such. "I understand the top one, but what do the rest mean?" You ask curiously.  
"I don't know, I wath jutht thuppothed to thet it up. I'm like the group tech guy."  
"These feel weird."  
"Don't meth with them. Hold thtill." Psiioniic started wrapping over them with bandages, making sure you couldn't accidentally pick at them.  
"When do they come off?"  
"At the end of the week. I'll get you thome clean clotheth to change into." He walked out of the room. You noticed Dolorosa look at the screen with a puzzled look.  
"What's up?"  
"Just looking over your vitals. They are a little strange."  
"How strange?"  
"Certain rates are different from a humans. Heart rate definitely, and yet oxygen is still strong."  
You turn when you hear the door open, noticing Psiioniic holding what looks like an undershirt and scrub bottoms. He held them out to you," Here you go."  
"So, where do I go to change?"  
"There ith a bathroom over there." He pointed to a door in the far corner.  
"Thanks." You walk into the bathroom, quickly noticing the mirror. Without your shades nothing kept your scarlet eyes from looking back at you, taunting you. Several of Bro's safety tips came to mind and you placed a hand against the glass. There was no space between your palm and your reflection. You immediately walk back out. "Why does the bathroom have two way glass? That's creepy as hell."  
They looked at you surprised. "I'm sorry, but what makes you think it's two way glass?" Dolorosa asked.  
"You touch it and if the image meets up with you so it touches it's two way glass, gap means it's a mirror."  
"What?! Oh come on, I used that bathroom!" Disciple stomped out angrily. Muffled shouts were heard and after quite a while Disciple came back steaming mad. "I found the people who were back there. No one is there anymore." You swear you saw blood on her nails.  
"Please tell me you didn't kill anyone."  
"Relax, they aren't dead. Infirmary yes, but not dead."  
"Alright." You went back in the bathroom to change, but you still did so with your back to the mirror. Who knows if someone else took their place after Disciple came back. You heard a tap behind you as you pulled on your shirt, freezing up a moment. "Yeah, ha ha. Let's freak out the bird-hybrid by tapping on the glass in the bathroom."  
"Fuck you kid." An angry voice growled," I'm just keeping an eye on an experiment."  
"Great to meet you too, pervert mirror man."  
"I'm not 'pervert mirror man'!" The muffled deep voice snapped.  
"What else do you want me to call you? Creepy mirror man?"  
"How about Grand High Blood, it's my name around here."  
You laugh,"Yeah, grand how you are giving people high blood pressure."  
"Fuck you."  
"Naw, I rather not except that offer."  
"You little motherfucker."  
"Why are you watching people through mirrors?"  
"It's my job. Whenever English finds an oddball like you they stay in that room and I draw up their features. Just me and English knew about this until you went and told them. They seriously care too much about you."  
"You seriously are drawing me as I get dressed?"  
"Yes numbskull. You have to be one of the hardest I've come across, what with all the markings and such."  
"Sorry mirror man, I mean GHB, I will just leave now." You pull on the scrub pants, walking out of the bathroom quickly. Never using that bathroom again.  
"Sorry Dave. We can put a poster over the mirror or something, but not much else we can do. Actually, Disciple there is a poster in my office." Signless stated, Disciple running off to get said poster.  
"Sounds like a plan to me." You start walking over only to have your mind slip into a state of unconsciousness.

You sit up, seeing Aradia look over curiously. "What happened?"  
"I don't know." You try focusing on waking up/falling asleep, but you remain where you are.  
"Were you tranquillized again?"  
"No, I just fell asleep." You felt dizzy. "I think I'm waking up."  
"Tell me about what happened when you come back."

Lights too bright, several faces staring at you in concern. Your head hurt, but you were okay for the most part. "What happened?"  
"You lost consciousness. Are you alright? Do you feel light headed or dizzy? Nauseous at all, or a headache?" Dolorosa asked.  
"My head hurts and I'm dizzy. Not sure why."  
"We aren't sure either, but we are trying to figure it out." Dolorosa helped you sit up. "Maybe a reaction to stress? Actually, when was the last time you ate?"  
"Noon the day I was captured."  
"Both of those might have done it. Signless, tell Psiioniic to get him something while he's out getting our lunches please. Oh, here." She pulled a granola bar from her pocket, holding it out to you. "Eat this now, alright?"  
"Thanks." You hadn't realized how hungry you were until you started eating, suddenly you felt starving.  
"Someone should have given you something by now. It's been two days since you've eaten, no wonder you aren't feeling good." She noticed Disciple come over.  
"What happened?" Disciple was holding a poster.  
"He passed out, probably from stress and hunger."  
"What? No one has feed him?" Disciple pulled a candy bar from her lab coat pocket, handing it to you. "Here you go." She smiled before heading off to cover the lie of a mirror.  
"Sorry Dave. Someone was supposed to bring you something to eat."  
"I guess they saw me sleeping and decided not to." You commented as you finished off the candy bar.  
"They get no excuses." Dolorosa hugged you. You were still fairly dizzy, so you just let her hug you, leaning against her. You almost fall asleep again, lulled by her heartbeat. Psiioniic's entry into the room still didn't pull you from your calm. You didn't snap out of it until Dolorosa had you sit up, handing you a carton of Chinese take out.  
"You mutht be really hungry," Psiioniic was watching you eat. "No wonder thignleth ith chewing thomeone out."  
"Wouldn't be surprised if English planed it." You mumbled, continuing on the broccoli beef.  
"What do you mean?"  
"He didn't tell you about the mirror, he's forcing me to stay in this room, and he thinks of me as some threatening monster. At this point a command to not give me anything wouldn't be a suprise." It seemed to sink in, a horrible realization spread across their faces.  
"I didn't think of that. I guess we'll have to bring things in for you." Disciple pushed a carton of rice your way. Eating rice with chopsticks had always been a little tricky, but you managed to do so anyway. "We're did you learn to use chopsticks?"  
"My parental guardian. Everyone calls him Bro."  
"So that's who you were looking for. Is he related to you?"  
"He adopted me as a baby."  
"What happened to your family?"  
"All of them died." They almost seemed surprised by how laid back you sound.  
The door slammed open, annoyed Signless stomping in. "I can't believe these people sometimes. All they see is appearance, I swear. If the just took a moment to talk they would realize how stupid their fear of Dave is." He picked up a take out box," Sorry Dave, they really should have given you something."  
"They were afraid of me?"  
"Yes, it's unreasonable."  
"Not really. I'm something weird and strange and big black wings aren't exactly welcoming, although neither is the rest of my appearance."  
"Still gives them no excuse. Appearance doesn't matter, anyone who says otherwise needs to rethink their priorities."


	25. Chapter 25

"Why didn't you say anything?" Aradia questioned," With how much you use your abilities and other differences you need to be eating everyday."  
"I don't know what anatomical changes I have unless their obvious."  
"You're a teenager, a denizen gift on top of that. You should be eating almost double in calories of what a normal teen needs, especially if you want to be using an energy draining ability like generating flames."  
"I think I get the picture. At least they let me get out of testing because of it."  
"You're not locking forward to that, are you?"  
"No, definitely not." You felt something, almost like water around your skin, but you and Aradia were over a volcano. "What the hell..."  
"Are you feeling something?" Aradia asked.  
"Yeah, like I was just dropped into the ocean."  
"That is probably waking world you in some water then."  
"I should probably wake up so I don't drown."  
"Actually, denizen gifts are basically all terrain. Roam the land, adventure the seas, sail the skies, but you are just more equipped for a certain terrain."  
"So I won't drown?"  
"Basically yes."  
"It's good to know I can't be drown in the middle of the night by deranged military personnel. What time is it anyway?"  
"Two-thirty-six a.m. Actually, you should wake up, someone might be trying to drown you. Don't give them something else to test."  
"See you later."

You wake up in the cylinder you fell asleep in, looking around. You saw a mountain of a man, scars across his face and hair going every which way glaring at you, or maybe that was his normal look. Next to him was a strong looking guy, although this guy looked kind of nervous and toyed with his ponytail. You couldn't see his eyes behind his cracked lenses.  
"What are you guys doing?" You tried saying, but a stream of bubbles came from your mouth instead. You were confused on how you could breath underwater, but the point must have been so you would swim up into better view. To bad for them, because instead you hid under your awesome blanket.  
You must have been having this stand off for hours, because the smaller guy, although still pretty tall and muscular, left to get coffee at one point, actually three, but still you refused to cooperate with their plans. "Kid, just get up. This is getting ridiculous." The bigger guy scowled.  
"Hey, your bathroom guy." Your voice actually worked now instead of just being air bubbles.  
"Bathroom... Guy?" The shorter one seemed quite confused.  
"Don't ask. Kid get up."  
"Giving up already?"  
"It's been four hours now, stop hidding."  
"I do what I want. Dave, out."  
"Finally."  
"I meant out of the conversation, not out in plain sight."  
"You little-"  
"What's going on here?!" Signless yelled as he walked into the room.  
"I'm supposed to draw out what the kid looks like, but my method didn't work." GHB huffed.  
"How long has he stayed under?"  
"Since around two this morning. Pretty sure he can breath under water."  
"I got you Dave." Disciple called out as the water drained down around you. Moments later the cylinder raised, but the air felt cold and you clung to the drenched comforter.  
"I'll get him dry clothes." Psiioniic stated as he headed out the door. You suddenly felt an arm around your waist as you were lifted off the platform.  
"Can you just leave him alone? You've done enough already." Signless glared at whoever it was holding you.  
"I just need to get what he looks like, markings and all. If he fails to cooperate I can sedate him and I have English's permission to use an force necessary. The more I use the more time he will tack on to the kid's stay." GHB's voice growled from right behind you. He had to be the one holding you up, but did you hear him right? He was going to extend your stay here over something like this?  
"Didn't you get them all earlier?" You coughed on the small amount of water still in you.  
"Obviously not. But damn kid, I didn't know you could breath underwater."  
"I didn't know either."  
"Why did you stay under then?"  
"Because I didn't want my pants falling off, so I decided to test my limits."  
"Interesting" you felt cold fingers to your neck, squirming to escape his grip. "Stop moving or I'll have you sedated." GHB snapped, fingers on your neck continuing to move. Then you felt something pull at your neck, immediately trying to flap your wings.  
"Stop it hurts!" You tried getting away from whatever it was. Sure you had strifes with Bro often enough that pain didn't really bug you, but this was something else. You felt like you were starting to choke on air as something dug into your neck. Suddenly as the feeling came it was gone, breath shaking.  
"Gills huh? They hide so well I never would have noticed."  
"Please let go." You hopped it was just your imagination, that you weren't actually shaking. The scientists all seemed surprised and sickened, giving you sad glances. You tried using you're ability, but seeing as how you were soaking wet it didn't work.  
"Are you going to listen to me?"  
"I'll listen." You sigh, suddenly being let go of. You fell to your knees, felling sick to your stomach and cold.  
"Get up." As you got up your wet pants refused to come up with you, and you grabbed the hem of them. "Ditch your shirt and pants." You felt a shiver run down your spin, but soon you stood in just your briefs. You felt surprisingly lighter, but now you could see GHB sketch away. He looked you over from several angles before he left, the other muscular guy close behind with his own clipboard.  
As soon as the door closed behind them you fell to your knees again, holding your wings around yourself to block out the lab. "Dave?" Disciple asked.  
Dolorosa came over to you," Dave, are you alright?"  
"Depends what alright is anymore."  
She checked your neck before pulling the shirt over your head, slits already cut into the back for your wings. "I'm so sorry Dave." She hugged you, hand stroking your wet hair.  
In that moment all you could see was Bro. You buried your head in his chest, hugging him as you felt yourself start to cry. "I don't want to be dif-fferent." You just listened to the heartbeat thumping in your ear, almost feeling worse that you were crying. As you calmed down you slipped into sleep.

You woke up where you had fallen asleep, suddenly realizing you were still in Dolorosa's arms after your sleep. "You feeling better Dave?" She asked.  
You pulled out of her arms, sitting up. "I'm fine."  
"Don't move to much, you're hurt."  
"I've got it." You stand up, putting on scrub pants as you did so before taking a step back.  
"Dave wha-" Dolorosa started, being cut off as you surrounded yourself in flames. As soon as you felt the prickles of pain fade away, you dropped them. "What did you do?" She asked, looking you over. It quickly dawned on her," You healed yourself."  
"That's what my ability is." You state simply.  
She was amazed. "You heal things... with fire?" Signless questioned, surprised.  
"Why else would I use it so much? If you haven't noticed, people aren't exactly gentle around me." You notice their curious stares again. "Why?"  
"That actually makes you sound a lot less threatening." Disciple commented.  
"I'm not a threatening person."


	26. Chapter 26

You once again wake up surrounded by water. At this rate you should wear a swimsuit or something, because sitting through someone changing your bandages over the monitor thingies sucked. You sat up, immediately recognizing the weird muscular guy from yesterday. He was just staring at you, and it made you really uncomfortable.  
"What are you doing?" You asked in a stream of bubbles, having to ask again so it was understandable.  
"I was supposed set it full of water."  
"Why?"  
"I just was."  
"That's not a reason."  
"Apparently Grand High Blood's drawings caught English's interest."  
"Why does this keep happening to me?"  
"I do not know, I'm sorry, but at least you get to leave in about four days, including this one."  
"What's your code name or whatever you go by?"  
"I go by my name, Darkleer."  
"That sounds like some D and D name."  
"As most denizen gifts names sound." That caught your attention.  
"You are a denizen gifts?"  
"No, my parents were though. That is why I'm confused by your name."  
"I was adopted at a few months old, my parents are dead."  
"I see, sorry to hear that."  
"Is everyone else with the weird code names related to denizen gifts?"  
"Yes, which is why they are trying to help you, except Grand High Blood, he is resentful of his loss at a chance of abilities and seems to be taking it out on you."  
"Does English know?"  
"He does not, and never should. If he were to find out about the race his first thoughts would be of destruction and control, not working together."  
"Why is someone against people's rights in a job to help protect people and their rights?"  
"Because it pays well and gives him the power he wants to do as he thinks necessary. Same for other people, not just English."  
"You must think a lot."  
"It is my job to do so. You aren't hurt, are you?"  
"I healed my self up yesterday."  
"I see. Sorry, but I must go. I wish you best of luck." Darkleer left, moments later in came the shocked looking four scientists. You suddenly felt on edge, wondering why they were so shocked, hoping it wasn't something bad.  
They seemed really upset, distracted by something. "What's going on?" You asked nervously, looking between all the four of them.  
"Grand pain in the rear told English about your gills. Now English wants to see you for himself, so please don't do anything that can be considered threatening. He's looking for any reason to make your time here longer." Disciple quickly noticed the water," What happened? Why are you underwater?"  
"Darkleer was told to apparently."  
"What?! Oh no, when did he leave?" Disciple kept looking to the door.  
"Right before you guys came in."  
"He only shows up if English is coming soon or has an interest." Dolorosa immediately started checking over things. "I'm so sorry Dave."  
"What's going on?" You look around for some reassurance in their faces.  
"Calm down, it's okay. You will be okay, I promise." Signless stopped when he heard the door open.  
English came in, immediately glaring your way. You moved back, trying to escape from his sharp gaze. "How are you breathing?"  
"I just am." He kept trying to get a closer look at you and you kept trying to get away. You couldn't seem to get away from him, hiding behind your wings in the middle of the weird freaking cylinder.  
"Pull him out, I want to get a closer look." English snapped. Water around you drained and before you knew it you were being dragged off and onto the steel table you had seen in the corner several times. You just tried to to keep your soaking clothes from falling off. English glared at you, making you scoot back. "Hold still." You froze stick still. Honestly you rather be back in Feferi's parrot cage, even though you destroyed it.  
He kept touching your wings and you couldn't do a thing about it. As soon as he stopped messing with them you pulled your wings in as close as you could. Every time he reached towards you, you tried backing away. He grabbed your shoulders and spun you around, probably so you wouldn't see him approach. Next thing you knew you felt cold fingers on your neck, running along your neck.  
At this point you wanted to curl up in a teeny tiny ball where he couldn't reach you, but sadly that wasn't possible. You were surprised that he wasn't tugging at your gills like GHB was, but it still felt insanely weird. Then again, it felt insanely weird to be a winged-gilled-fire-using-magic teenager, so nothing really felt normal.  
It felt like forever before he decided he was done messing with your gills, pausing before saying something. "He is surprisingly calm."  
"He's scared, sir. He's also just a child who wants to go home." Signless stated.  
"My decision for all the other subjects didn't faze you, but this one does. Why?"  
"Because he's a good kid who just keeps ending up in bad situations. Imagine having Scratch after you."  
"I would have taken Scratch out."  
"See? He didn't kill Scratch or you, he just wanted to get away. He also hasn't shown aggression towards any of us. He isn't threatening."  
"What about his strange ability?"  
"He uses fire to heal himself."  
"How do you know?"  
"Because Grand High Blood hurt him yesterday, so he healed himself up."  
"Grand High Blood doesn't have a scratch, that couldn't be right."  
"That's because Dave didn't fight back! Honestly you and Grand High Blood are more aggressive than he is, I'm more aggressive than he is. He is not aggressive."  
"He is less aggressive than you? That is a statement. I need to check on the other subjects, good day." You heard heavy foot falls and the opening and closing of a door. You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding.  
"You alright Dave?" Signless asked. You just fell to your side on the cold table. You did not like English, not at all. You didn't want to be different, you didn't want to be here, you didn't want to worry if you would even last the week or if they would extend your stay. "Dave?" Signless asked again, coming closer.  
"I just want to go home."  
"Sorry Dave, we're doing everything we can. Your want to be with your friends, right? If you know their numbers I could let you borrow my phone."  
"Really?" You notice him place a phone next to you. First thing you do is call John.  
"Hello, who is this?"  
"Only your best friend."  
"Dave! How did you get a hold of a phone?"  
"I'm borrowing it from one of the scientists."  
"Aradia told me you might get to leave."  
"Yeah, in three more days I might be back."  
"I'm already picking out movies."  
"Go ahead, pick all the horrible cinema you want. I'm going to call Rose now."  
"Bye Dave."  
You dial Rose's number, but Kanaya picks up," Hello?"  
"Kanaya, what are you doing at Rose's house?"  
"Dave, is that you? How are you calling?"  
"Via a scientist's phone."  
"Hold on, everyone here is asking I put you on speaker."  
"How many of you are Rose's house?"  
"It's a sleepover, so all the girls."  
"That saves me a lot of calls."  
"We can hear you Dave! It's Terezi speaking."  
"Terezi, how is the prosecution?"  
"The court is still out on whether or not you acted stupidly. Seriously, you went up against two of the people after you at once?"  
"Actually there are three. You forgot Feferi's psychotic sister."  
"She's still after mew?"  
"Yeah, she started a bar fight trying to catch me. I could have died."  
"You just made the badass list. I haven't even caused a bar fight yet."  
"Sorry to burst your bubble Vriska, but I was already there."  
"Oh ha ha. Did you call Karkles yet?"  
"Doing that now. Bye." You then remembered Bro, calling him instead.  
"Hello?"  
"Sup?"  
"Dave? How did you get ahold of a phone?"  
"Borrowed it from a scientist."  
"How are you, are you alright?"  
"Hanging tough. Not exactly Disneyland."  
"I bet. What's happened to you so far?"  
"They've taken blood samples, I've had to show them my abilities, I thought I was going to drown at one point, but I didn't. Not liking having to stay in a giant see-through cage, but English still thinks I'm a monster or something."  
"Aradia said you might be getting out."  
Yeah, might leave in three more days."  
"Might?"  
"English is trying to find any reason to keep me here longer. It sucks, but I'm doing pretty good at not giving him reasons."  
"Oh, your two nerd friends are over. I'll hand them the phone."  
"You mean Karkat and Sollux?" You heard something from the scientists.  
"Thup' Dave?" You could faintly hear cussing in the background.  
"Is Karkat trying to get the phone?"  
"Yeth, obviouthly. How'th prithon?"  
"Tough, but not how I thought."  
"Ho- hey..."  
"... Hello Dave, I finally got the phone."  
"I'm surprised by this. What, did he use his height against you to keep the phone away?"  
"He had his foot on my face."  
"That almost seems like a reoccurring theme here."  
"Fuck you."  
"No thanks, besides I'm not even there."  
"Oh m..."  
"... I got the phone back."  
"You guys are the biggest dorks on the planet. Who fights over a phone?"  
"Obviouthly uth." You notice Signless giving you a hurried signal to rap it up.  
"I've got go, pretend I'm still talking to you."  
"Sounds interesting." You hang up. Signless quickly pockets his phone as you hear the door open. You are still laying on cold steel, so you can't see the door.  
"Hey, is this the new guy?" A smooth voice asked, sounding excited.  
"Did English call you?" Signless asked.  
"Yeah. He wanted another set of eyes to better evaluate."  
"How long are you going to be here?"  
"As long as the kid is."


	27. Chapter 27

Yay, more scientists, because four wasn't enough. No, English had to call in another, and you now had to deal with another looking you over. You sat up, balancing on your arms as you tried to get a look of the new scientist. He looked like Tavros, but older and he had red streaks in his messy hair and looked more muscular.  
"Woah, you've got really red eyes." He stared at your eyes. You just dropped down onto your stomach with your face in your arms. "What's wrong?"  
"Can everyone just leave me alone? Is it really to much to ask?"  
"I just said you have red eyes."  
"Yeah, because that makes me feel normal."  
"Rough day huh?"  
"You have no fucking clue."  
"Hey, I have a clue. I was in the same place as you once."  
"Really?"  
"Sort of. English found me shortly after my parents died on my sixteenth birthday. My little brother had been kidnapped years earlier by some hunters, and I was in mid transformation when my parents begged for me not to be like them, but it was a little late. English let me continue my studies, but I'm stuck under his watch."  
You didn't know what to say," So what happened?" You balanced on your arms again, looking over in interest.  
"I fought back at first, but it didn't take long for him to find something to hold against me. He always tries to find something he can get out of his catches. He found out about my love of animals and how I sort of can talk to them, so he agreed to give me some freedom if I studied and worked for him."  
"What? So you sort of have the ability to talk to animals?"  
"That's what I got. There's bits and pieces that are hard to understand, but for the most part they get what I'm saying and I get what they say."  
"You look normal though, even with your brownish orange eyes."  
"Like I said, I didn't change much. The few changes I did have I hide fairly well."  
"Like what?"  
"I may or may not have...b...fly...ings."  
"What was the last part?"  
"Butterfly wings." He rubbed the back of his head nervously, looking off to the side.  
"Really?"  
"It's really embarrassing."  
"No, that's totally cool. How are you hiding your wings though?"  
"They fold up against my back in a way you can't really see them."  
"That has to make it way easier to hide."  
"Obviously not well enough, their not the sturdiest of wings either. What are you a mix of? I'm going to say a crow."  
"Probably. I don't even know."  
"What are your parents?"  
"Dead."  
"Oh, sorry."  
"So, what did English want you to do?"  
"I'm just supposed to help the other four. He wants several tests done by tomorrow. Tomorrow you will be allowed to wander the building, get some actual exercise."  
"Sweet, I finally get to walk around." You noticed them setting up things," Oh, tests. Right."  
"It's several blood tests and seeing you demonstrate your abilities."  
You frowned, already dreading the rest of the day.

You fall asleep/wake up, looking around you. Aradia remained asleep nearby, which was odd considering she was always asleep/awake moments after you. You walk, looking for Jade, or really anyone. There weren't many denizen gifts, much less ones you knew. You wonder, looking around as you go.  
After two hours you found Jade, crying for some reason. "Jade? Jade, what's wrong?"  
She looked over with wide eyes. "I-I hurt someone. I didn't mean it, it just... happened!"  
"What did you do?"  
"Echidna showed me how to make quills, but I accidentally used it on someone."  
"That's your ability? Who did you use it on?"  
"He kept pushing me, and he had me cornered and I wanted to make sure he didn't chase me, but I hurt him."  
"Jade, who was it?"  
"Scratch. It was all over the news, I almost killed him! He almost bleed to death!"  
"You were defending yourself, he deserved it."  
"But not like that! He was covered in quills, from head to toe. I'm glad it wasn't someone else, but I didn't do it on purpose. What if I do that to someone we know?"  
"Jade, you won't. None of our friends would push you to that point." You hug her," You won't hurt anyone good, I know it."  
"Thanks Dave. So, are you coming home in three more days?"  
"It should be two more days soon enough. They're letting me walk around tomorrow, not just locking me up in a room."  
"Maybe you could escape?"  
"That's exactly something English would plan on. If I just don't react they will let me go, but if I fight back even once I'm in for several more days at least."  
"You aren't allowed to defend yourself?"  
"No, but it's not like they're acting like Scratch. Most of them actually care about me so far, except for English and one other."  
"So you haven't gotten hurt?"  
You decided not to answer that. "You aren't hurt, right?"  
"Not really, but what about you?"  
She was being persistent. "How much school work did I miss?"  
"Why won't you answer, it's yes or no."  
"Doesn't matter, I can handle it."  
"What did they do?"  
"It doesn't matter."  
"Yes it does, what happened?"  
"Are you freaked out by your changes?"  
"A little, why?"  
"Stay calm, but do as I do." Jade nodded, following your movements as you reached up and slowly move them across your neck. It didn't take long for her to feel the almost unnoticeable ridges on her neck. Her eyes went wide, immediately messing with them. "Be careful, they're sensitive. Those are gills."  
"What?! Why do we have gills if we aren't aquatic?"  
"I don't know, but what happened was my gills were tugged on till I couldn't handle it." Jade looked concerned," Don't worry, it didn't last long."  
"How did you find out about, you know, your gills?"  
"They were trying to do something, but I didn't leave my spot even with all the water because I could still breath. Aradia helped explain, since it happened while I was asleep."  
"They tried to drown you?"  
"I don't know what they were doing."  
"Oh."  
You felt the feeling of water around you again. "They're at it again. I'm going to have to wake up now. Goodbye Jade."  
"Bye Dave."


	28. Chapter 28

You woke up in water. Again. "Seriously?" Of course it was bubbles. You noticed GHB staring you down, he smirked and then left. You now hated this guy. "Just two more days." You mumbled to yourself.  
Signless and Psiioniic came in after a while, Signless immediately noticing the water around you. "Psiioniic can you-?"  
"Already on it. No more midnight thwimth." Psiioniic started messing with the control panel, muttering something.  
Signless did the release combination, water draining before it let you out. "At this rate you should sleep in a swimsuit. Who was it?"  
"Grand High Blood." You hop down dripping wet again. "Just two more days."  
"That's the spirt! You can wander if you want, any guards in the hall will tell you where you can't go. It's basically a free day, but you're still have to stay here while we process information and such incase some blanks need to be filled. There should be dry clothes on one of the desks in the room."  
You nodded, looking around the room. As soon as you spotted a medical gown you frowned, but seeing as how you're clothes kept getting completely soaked it made sense. You toss off your soaking shirt and pants before pulling on the medical gown. It wasn't very long and didn't have sleeves, showing your assorted markings.  
"You know you could have changed in the bathroom." Signless stated.  
"I don't trust the bathroom anymore. Pervert mirror man probably found a loophole." You replied as you walked out the lab door. For a moment you almost expected to be told to go back in the lab, but that didn't happen. You walked down the hall, noticing the white scrubs and coats of the scientists and black uniforms of security as you explored. It was weird how you were getting to walk, but you hoped tomorrow wouldn't leave you stuck in the lab again.  
"Hey there!" Smiled a scientist, stopping to talk to you.  
"Hello." You immediately recognized Vriska's aunt, Mindfang.  
"You must be the new guy. You must be really calm for them to let you roam the building so soon after getting here. What exactly are you?"  
"A magical crow boy? I don't really know what to tell you."  
"Are those tattoos?"  
"I wish. Then I could have them removed."  
"You don't like your position much, huh?"  
"In this case would you?"  
"I guess not. You lost or just wandering?"  
"Wandering. It's nice to walk and not be stuck in a glass prison."  
She smiled," I guess you're right. You know there's a courtyard of sorts near the storage wing? It's domed over, but it would be a perfect place for you to fly if you want."  
"That's cool, were is it?"  
"I'll show you if you promise me you will get Summoner to fly with you."  
"The scientist who's also a test subject?"  
"Yup, so deal or not kid?"  
"Alright, but I don't know where he is."  
"Don't worry, I'll show you where he is." She smiled, leading the way down the hall. "He lives in one of the storage cells."  
"Why is he in a storage cell?"  
"Everyone calls them storage cells, but they're actually containment units for test subjects. People are so sensitive about what they call things."  
"Maybe it makes them feel better."  
"Yeah, it's not containing supernatural beings, it's storage. He gets a pretty big room though, with a desk so he can work when he can't sleep. Wonder where they will lock you in when they decide to slow down testing."  
"Actually, since I'm a non aggressive kid they said if I didn't cause trouble they would let me go. Signless argued for it."  
"Get out! That guy actually did that?"  
"Yes. I'm to be released in three days including this one."  
"I knew Signless was good with words, but not that good."  
"Is English really that hard to convince?"  
"Yes. So here is the courtyard." You notice the clear dome over the large area of grass, a few plants at the edges. "And now let's get Summoner!" She walked to the several spaced doors along the far wall, going to the second set of doors. She lead the way down the hall before stopping midway. You noticed all the clear doors, showing strange creatures you had never seen before. A flaming hound, a stag covered in plants, a bird of rainbow colors; as you had gone down the hall the doors had gotten spaced further and further apart.  
She pointed to the door she stopped near. "Alright kid," she whispered," don't mention me at all, but convince him to go fly with you. His only job is about you anyway, so go get him!"  
"Why are we suddenly whispering?"  
"Because if he knows I want him to fly he won't. He's such a tease sometimes." She smiled and walked off. You watched her walk away before going up to the door. You saw him going over something, and then you opened the door. He turned, almost laughing," What are you doing here Dave? Nearly gave me a heart attack."  
"I heard you were here and I wanted to see if you would go flying with me."  
"I'm sensitive about my wings." He rubbed the back of his head. "Not everyone is as confident as you."  
You remember your wings were showing. "They always give me clothes with slits in the back. I honestly hate my wings, I just can't hide them."  
He seemed surprised," You shouldn't hate yourself over something you can't help."  
"Isn't that what you're doing? Hiding your wings because you don't want to see them? If you had to put more effort into hiding them you would hate them pretty quickly. Not saying that from opinion, but experience."  
He stared at you in concern. "You haven't done anything drastic, right?"  
"Depends what you call drastic, but I probably have."  
He had a sad look on his face. "What made you stop?"  
"Bro found out. I couldn't fly either, so that was a motivator. I flew after I stopped and it convinced me never to try that again."  
"Good to hear. You should probably go fly then."  
"Please? I really want to know what your wings look like and no one has ever gone flying with me. Please?"  
"Alright, I'll fly with you." He pulled off his shirt, untying bandages from around his chest.  
"Why do you have bandages if your wings hide so well?"  
"If I'm surprised my wings make an appearance, so it's to make sure they stay hidden." He pulled the bandages all off, tossing his coat on before walking with you out of his room. You were excited that someone would fly with you, practically skipping. "How old are you? Nineteen? Twenty?"  
"I'm sixteen."  
"You shouldn't have those markings at sixteen."  
"My development was rushed twice."  
"By who?"  
"First time by hunters who wanted to know if I would be useful, second time Bro got ahold of a charm he got to me when I was stuck in a parrot cage in the middle of the park, which activated and helped me escape. I ended up with these markings though."  
"I saw that in your report. How did you end up in a parrot cage?"  
"Crazy lady who sets up bear traps outside of town found me caught in one. I was running from Scratch, but I think I ran farther than I needed to."  
You were excited to reach the courtyard. You turned around, looking at Summoner, wanting to see his wings. He looked really nervous, glancing around the court yard before folding up his coat and setting it down. Then you saw his wings; they were orange, speckled with a lighter orange and slightly translucent with a sort of pattern on them that made the wings seem like a mix of a butterfly and a dragonfly.  
You took off flying, excited when he did too. Someone was actually flying with you! You legitimately had someone fly with you and not just watch from the ground. Of course it didn't last long before he spotted someone, and you immediately realize it's Mindfang. He just folds up his wings, and your first reaction was to make sure he didn't fall and hurt himself. You were flapping as hard as you could, slowly letting Summoner's weight drag you down to the ground with him.  
As soon as his feet reached the ground you collapsed on the ground, exhausted. "Dave?" Summoner asked as you saw Mindfang approach.  
"You're heavy."  
"I'm 98 pounds. I just seemed heavy in the air."  
"You could have hurt yourself."  
"You know I have to be able to land if I can fly."  
"Oh. I haven't really meet anyone else who can fly."  
"Hey Summoner." Mindfang smiled.  
"Did you seriously trick me into flying?"  
"I would never! Now, telling this kid where your room and the courtroom are with the knowledge crows like groups is another story." She ruffled his hair," You used to fly so much before English got you, now it's mister workaholic!"  
"Because I don't want to end up on a table as people look for what makes me tick. I had to be a mix of one of those fairy bulls, not just a butterfly or a bull."  
"You don't look like a bull." You comment.  
"My transformation stopped early and any sign of horns is sawed off."  
"Why would you do that?"  
"Because before that it gave me problems, so I get rid of them."  
"So what do the fairy bulls look like?"  
"I'll show you, come on." He helped you up and you guys headed back towards the hall where he lived, stopping at one of the first doors. He opened it and out flew a cat sized bull with butterfly wings, happily nuzzling Summoner's face. "Hey Tinkerbull! Dave, this is what I'm a mix of."  
You looked at the happy little fairy bull. "How did you meet him?"  
"After my parents died I ran off to a cave hidden in the forest. It was full of these little guys, but Tinkerbull followed me the most. He nuzzled me, would sleep next to me, fly with me, cheered me up and once he helped me find one of my lost friends. It's almost sad that he stood up to English to defend me, because now he's here too." He stroked Tinkerbull behind his ears," I'm not allowed to take him with me to my room until the hall is locked down."  
"He's really cute." Tinkerbull took notice of you, flying around you once before nuzzling your cheek and returning back to where he was.  
"I think he likes you." Summoner smiled, but then he slowly guided Tinkerbull back into the containment cell," I'll be back, don't worry."  
"It's sad you both are stuck in containment cells."  
"I don't even realize it anymore." He lead the way back to his room," I guess I've just been here so long it doesn't register as a cell. At least I don't have to pay rent."  
"Do you ever leave?"  
"Yeah, I'm not stuck here. I just can't bring Tinkerbull with me."  
"He's the only reason you're still here." You realize.  
"Yeah, but it's not that bad."  
"What if you ran?"  
"English would kill Tinkerbull. I can't let that happen, because he's the only family I have left. He basically adopted me when no one else could help me." You two reach his room," Do you want some pants? I'm pretty sure flying in underwear and a gown wouldn't be fun the second time, or even the first time."  
You remember that you have no pants. "That would be great."  
"Alright." He stepped through his messy cell, handing you a pair of pants. You quickly pull them on.  
"Thank you."  
"No problem."  
"Hey, was your brother named Tavros?"  
He's eyes went wide," Yeah, how did you know?"  
"I'm a friend of his. He lives with this really big guy hunter guy."  
"Is he in the town you are from?"  
"Yeah. He's doing well by the way, I was just wondering because you two look alike."  
"I'll visit you guys sometime then, the town isn't that far."  
"Sounds like a plan. Bye Summoner." You wave goodbye as you head back down the hallway. Halfway back a hand clamps over your mouth and an arm around your waist. Your vision blurs and before you know it you're unconscious.


	29. Chapter 29

**I won't update for a few days (because planes and such) but accept this update until then.**

You wake up, dazed and blinded by the bright light in front of you. You try getting up, hit your head against the metal above you. That can't be good. You shield your eyes, looking up at the metal above you and steel bars around you. You are in a dog crate.  
"No. No, no, no." You start kicking at the bars, feeling the edges as you tried finding a way out of this tiny prison. Scratch's smiling face flashed in your mind as you started trying to breath slower, catching yourself before you started hyperventilating. "No, not now! Why now?" You dig your nails into the sides of your head, trying to breath slowly.  
"Little birdie doesn't like cages? To bad." Grand High Blood growled. You turned to the direction of his voice, seeing his legs not far from where you were, edge of his coat barely in view. He came closer, kneeling down and glaring at you with his violet eyes.  
"Why are you doing this?" You struggle against the faces seeming to be just like his flashing into your mind.  
"Nothing personal, just doing my job. English wants a reason to keep you here or all the information he can get by the time you are released. One hit against me and you're stuck another week, no hits and you should be out of here in another day." GHB grabbed the crate, dragging it over to a steel table before using a key to open the crate. He dragged you out of the crate before tossing you roughly onto the steal table.  
You begged for the nightmare to end, silently pleading for this to just be some screwed up dream, or even some hallucination. Sadly, it was real, oh so very real, you realize as you felt a sharp pain running up your wing. "Stop!" You try pulling from his grip on your wings, feeling his painfully tight grip.  
"Go ahead, hit me. Any reason for them to keep you here longer." He snapped. You couldn't do anything, and he knew it. You wanted to leave so badly that you would have to sit through what felt like someone breaking your wings over and over. You didn't know why he was messing with your wings, but by the time he stopped you felt like you were going to faint.  
Your moment of peace ended quickly as you felt cold fingers on your neck. You could take it, you had to if you wanted to leave. Honestly you felt like you were going to cry, but at this point it almost seemed like that was the point. "You know what?" GHB asked," How do your gills work? Do you know?"  
You froze," Why are you asking that?"  
"Why aren't you answering?"  
"What are you suggesting?"  
"I'm not suggesting anything. I'm just asking how your gills work, or your magic none the less? Any explanation?" You couldn't find any words, stomach sinking as you heard his calm, cold statements without his usual hint of anger. "No explanation, none?" You tried to jump off the table, only to be shoved back down on it. "Better take a closer look." He yanked the restraints up, tying your wrists before moving to your ankles.  
"Come on, please don't do this." You tried pulling free, but the restraints held strong," Please don't do anything. I just want to go home."  
"A little too late for that request." You try to get away, but seeing as how you were strapped down to an examination table it didn't work. You close your eyes as you saw the knife slowly approach, wishing something would save you, like in the movies. As you heard the door open, you half expected a superhero. Instead you had Summoner, but he could pull off being a superhero and anyone saving you was a good thing.  
"What are you doing?!" Summoner exclaimed, glaring angrily at GHB," You are no longer allowed on the case after your actions earlier. Back away from him now."  
"Oh, and how would you know?"  
"Because I live here! All I do is review files and reports, especially about what I've been assigned. Now back off." Summoner approached, but GHB had a knife. It was almost like a dance with how they were dodging each other's hits. Summoner managed to grab the GHB's wrist so he couldn't stab him, pinning him into a wall. "You alright?" He asked over his shoulder, struggling to keep GHB pinned.  
"Yeah. Just an average day of almost getting stabbed." You stare at the ceiling.  
After several silent moments you heard footsteps. Next thing you know, Mindfang is untying the restraints. "You just can't stay out of trouble can you?" Mindfang laughed, helping you up.  
You notice feathers on the ground. "I wish I could. This is getting ridiculous. I'm the only person on the planet to get double kidnapped."  
"Why didn't you fight back?" English seemed confused," You easily could have taken him."  
"He said he was under your orders and if I did hit him he would make me stay longer."  
English was quite mad. "Grand High Blood, my office, now." He grabbed the files on one of the desks and marched out of the room with GHB.  
"He commanded that." Mindfang stated.  
"How do you know?"  
"Dave, I'm a first class liar. I know how to tell that someone's lying and English is lying that he's mad at Grand High Blood. Guy can't trick me." Mindfang and Summoner walked with you down the hall.  
"We can't leave you in your room or alone basically anywhere, so you're going to have to stay with me." Summoner stated.  
"Hey, were is everyone?" You ask, noticing the lack of people.  
"It's the end of the day. Mindfang is just here because she locks down the storage wing every night."  
"Oh." You kept looking back, as if English and GHB were going to show up and drag you off again. You could see English's face out of the corner of your eyes, but you knew it was just what was left of the panic from earlier.  
"You alright there?" Summoner glanced over to you.  
"I'm fine."  
"Just checking." As soon as you and Summoner reached the hall were he stayed Mindfang gave a wave before closing the heavy doors and locking them behind you two. Summoner opened Tinkerbull's cell, smiling as the sleepy little guy landed on his shoulder. He lead the way to his room, holding the door open for you. You quickly realized how messy his room was as you tripped over a large quilted cat plushie.  
Looking around, he had a lot of stuffed animals. "Woah. I didn't remember your room."  
He laughed nervously," When English agrees to let me go in to town I like getting them. They're really soft." You had to agree with him there. "You can sleep on my bed, I've got files to go over by tomorrow."  
"Won't you be tired?"  
"That's what coffee is for." He began working at his computer, lights off except for his dim screen. His eyes weren't nearly as reflective as Jade or Aradia's were, but they definitely weren't human either. You slip into sleep, not quite safe, but safer than you had been in your entire entrapment.

"I wouldn't be in your situation," Condense smirked, pulling your cage from the truck. "No." You tried focusing on something else, blinking at the bright sun as you jumped to the next rooftop. It was the stretch of buildings were you lived, stopping since you had no clue why you were running. You fell off the ledge, trying to fly.  
Next thing you know, you crash through the glass window overlooking a forest. Angry shouts are behind you as you race through the night sky. "No, stop it!" You shake your head, opening them in a forest. This had to be Jaspers' neck of the woods, right?  
You walk cautiously anyway, stepping through the darkening wood as you look around. "What's happening?" You hear a loud snap, looking down at your ankle automatically. You felt so tired, weak from your scare.  
"I don't need your trust." Scratch stated. You look around, suddenly in the nurse's office.  
"No, no, no..."  
"Dave, wake up." Scratch stated as he walked closer.  
"Leave me alone!"

"Dave, wake up." Summoner was pinning you to the wall, concerned look on his face.  
"What's going on?"  
"You went into a panic while you were asleep. Started flapping your wings and striking out." Summoner slowly let go, making sure you didn't just fall over. You were wide awake now, startled and mind reeling. "Dave, what's wrong?"  
"Nothing, just a rough night." You look at Tinkerbull fluttering just past his shoulder.  
"Are you always like this?"  
"No, it just happens sometimes. Usually I don't have normal dreams."  
"You had a normal dream? Like not in the denizen realm normal?"  
"Yeah, it happens. That's why their called normal dreams right?"  
"Denizen gifts don't have normal dreams unless under extraordinary circumstances. You usually get one or the other, not both."  
"What?"  
"That's what I'm saying. Maybe it's stress, or something." Summoner suggested.  
You just nod, trying to fall asleep.


	30. Chapter 30

You wake up to Tinkerbull asleep next to you. You sat up, noticing Summoner half asleep at his desk. "Oh, morning Dave." He yawned.  
"You look like you didn't sleep."  
"I didn't. I'm glad I keep coffee in here."  
"Really?"  
"It's canned coffee." Summoner looked over," Would you like some?"  
"Yes, that would be great." You sat up, catching the can he tossed you," Thanks." It was terrible, but you drank it anyway.  
"Why do you drink canned coffee? Why not an energy drink or something?"  
"I only started drinking caffeine since I came here. More than what's in this and I start having problems."  
"Problems?"  
"I usually don't get everything an animal is saying unless I'm talking to them, but I have a bunch of caffeine and suddenly it's like I'm in the middle of a crowd. It sucked."  
"How does that suck? It made your ability stronger."  
"I had no control over it. Even when I just wanted everything to quite down I couldn't, unlike usual were I decide if I want to understand or not. Imagine being stuck in the middle of a crowd just yelling things like 'let me out' or 'I want to leave' for half a day, knowing that you can't do anything."  
"That would suck." You are now wondering if you should even be drinking this coffee. You had taken the coffee, so you will finish the coffee.  
"Oh, you'll be allowed to wander today, just don't walk so close to doors today. You've got one more day, then you get to go home. Oh, stop by where you were though and let the other four know your okay."  
"Got it." You head down the hall, noticing the hall was open again. You walk down the hall, heading back to were you had stayed the rest of the week.  
"Dave, are you alright?" Signless asked as soon as you entered," We heard what happened yesterday."  
"I'm fine. This is my last day anyway."  
"Are you sure?"  
"Yeah, I'm going to wander the halls." You walk back out the door. What even was your life anymore? You just spent a week in a lab, but it felt like weeks. Now less excited by walking, you could almost swear the people who walked past were staring at you. Kind of expected when you're a kid with wings.  
You gave the doors you walked past space, not wanting to continue the nightmare from yesterday. You felt a hand on your shoulder and spun around.  
"Hey!" Mindfang smiled," You think you would be sick of walking around."  
"Naw, I'm going to keep going. Feel bad for Summoner though."  
"Why? Because he's stuck here?"  
"Yeah. If it weren't for Tinkerbull's being stuck here he wouldn't come back. He could easily make a plan to bust himself out."  
Mindfang thought about this a moment. "Actually, can I ask you something?"

You hadn't been looking forward to this the whole week, but it was your one ticket out. You felt naked without shades, and wearing just a medical gown didn't help. The door read 'English' next to it in large letters, and knowing it would just be you and him actually made this almost sound like a death wish. You open the door and walk in.  
English looked up from his stack of papers, obviously interested in any excuse out of filing. A smirk on his face, he looked up," Well, if it isn't the mystery boy. Sit down, Dave." He motioned to the chair in front of him. You sat down. "Do you know why Signless is trying to help you?"  
"My charming personality? I don't know."  
"I don't know either. I'm no scientist, but what I've seen so far is amazing, which makes this even more of a mystery." He shot you the same glance as back when you were in the parrot cage," What scientist wouldn't be curious? Want to know more, maybe get a closer look."  
Your feathers ruffled. "One who respects my boundaries."  
English about laughed in your face. "He really must then, because I have a line asking for you as a test subject. You really have people's interest, especially after your little trip around the building. Dave, I've never let any test subject go, so any deal will be good here. I can just let you go, out for organizations and people like Scratch to try and get the upper hand, keep you here all safe and sound, or," he looks you dead in the eyes," I can keep an eye on you as you get older. You'll never be completely free, but then if anyone else lays a finger on you I can have them locked away where the sun doesn't shine. Signless argued for the first option, but you only get that on a few conditions. Cause any problems and I won't hesitate to put a tracking device on you, anything major and I'm locking you up. Are we clear?"  
"Yes."  
"That's yes sir!"  
"Yes sir."  
"Good. Don't break any laws, not even jaywalking or so much as getting a parking ticket. I've got your name, Dave Elizabeth Strider, and I'll be told if you do. I don't care what your reasoning is, so you better be a model citizen. You can wander the building now, but remember to go back to the lab room at the end of the day."  
"Understood sir."  
"Good." He stared at you, even as you left the room. That would have bugged you as much if it weren't for the whole medical gown thing. You couldn't wait to be back in normal clothes, not these stupid clothes. You could barely wait to get home, but you didn't want to stay in the lab again, especially after the last incident. You had things to do.  
Once again you saw the glances and stares as you walked down the hall, pulling your wings close against your back. A door in front of you opened, and if you had been paying more attention you wouldn't have gotten hit in the face. Or knocked over. GHB stepped out, seeming to not notice you. You notice Mindfang coming your way.  
"Back to the gown, huh?" Mindfang helped you up," Come on, I don't need you getting kidnapped."  
"I'm already kidnapped."  
"You know what I mean!" Mindfang lead you to what looked like an office. "Stay here till I get back, got it?"  
"Yes."  
"Good." With that she left. You look around, realizing this is her office. A picture of Vriska and Mindfang sits on the desk, along with a stack of files and a nameplate. The files read 'subject SRN-1206', which wouldn't mean anything if you hadn't noticed Summoner's picture sticking out of it. You open it, noticing the sad teen him looked startlingly like a winged, horned Tavros with messy hair instead of a mohawk. Several things about the picture ruffled your feathers, including the heavy chain around his neck connected to the wall and how he was looking past the camera.  
Flipping threw made you fell sick, but he definitely put up a fight; twenty-seven staff injuries in the first three days along with two different times where they had tranquillized him so he couldn't attack his captors. The guy was strong, but all the reports of fighting stopped after three days and that's when you stumbled across a picture of Tinkerbull. 'After the threat of harm to TN-1207, the subject became very docile. The temperament change was astounding, along with even cooperating as long as TN-1207 was not harmed in any way. While this would hinder in reasearch, it made studying the subject much more of a reality and less a threat to the health and safety of the personnel.'  
You put it back down, upset with the files. You don't even want to think about if you had no chance of escape. The door opened shortly after, but the looming figure wasn't Mindfang.  
You take a step back, looking the few inches up to see GHB staring you down. It was then that you noticed a small bottle dangling from his neck.  
"What are you doing here?" He growled.  
"Mindfang told me to wait right here."  
"I don't care. Where is she?"  
"I don't know, she didn't say." Your eyes look at the bottle, which seemed to have hair like GHB's in it, but much shorter.  
"What are you looking at?"  
"The bottle around your neck."  
He looked down at it before glaring at you," What about it?"  
"Why do you have a bottle of hair?"  
"It's my brothers."  
You would have asked more, but you had a feeling it was not something to bring up, especially around the big guy who kept attacking you. "Oh."  
"What do you mean oh?! I lost him because he was like you! Summoner's brother was the same way and he isn't annoyed by you."  
"His brother was caught by a group in black suits with a card deck suits on a pocket, is that the same with you?"  
He looked stunned," How did you know, he doesn't tell anyone about it."  
"Did he tell you?"  
"That's different. How did you know about the guys who took my brother?!"  
"They tried catching me too. What did your family call your brother?"  
"Gamzee."  
"He's alive."  
He pinned you to the wall, pain shooting through your wings," How do you know?! How would you know!?"  
"He lives in my town. He's taken care of himself since he was little because no one else did. He thought his family died, but he's still one of the happiest guys I know."  
"Where is he?!"  
"I'm not sure where he lives, another friend knows." He tightened his grip on your arms," I know his school though, he goes to S. Burb High School."  
"His name is Gamzee?"  
"Yes, Gamzee Makara."  
He let go of your arms, letting you fall the few inches he had forced you up the wall. Your wings ached, feeling like you had been hit by a car again. "So are there any other odd out kids? Any like Gamzee?" GHB had gotten quiet, suddenly much calmer. It was terrifying.  
"The guys who caught Gamzee also took at least four other kids, but only one of them ended up being like me. They sell the... blood of people who transform."  
GHB looked disgusted," They sell blood?"  
"Yeeeeaaaaaaaaaah, it's pretty gross, but it must be profitable if they keep doing it."  
"What do they want with blood? It's just blood."  
"For people who transform, it supposedly gives the drinker powers for a time span or something like that."  
"Really?"  
"That's what the guy who was hunting me said."  
GHB seemed to think a moment," Does it depend on who you get it from?"  
"Yeah as far as I know."  
"Interesting." GHB shot you an unnerving glance before walking off.  
Moments later Mingfang and Summoner came running in. "Are you alright?" Summoner asked as soon as he stepped through the door frame.  
"Not sure, but how does that guy get so strong?" You check over your wings, noticing blood dripping down one of the feathers. A quick glance at the wall and you notice an equally blood nail. Mindfang noticed the blood, pulling out a small first aid kit from one of the desk drawers and coming up to you.  
"I'm going to check your wings, alright?" She opened the little box.  
"I can heal myself."  
"Dave, count off the number of little holes in the wall."  
You look over, noticing four holes," Four."  
"Then turn around and let me pull the three nails out of your wings." Mindfang waited for you to turn around. "You should probably sit down and spread your wings. Summoner, can you get the flashlight from my desk?"  
You heard the shuffling of papers from the desk. "Wait, don't touch my wings."  
"Dave, they have to come out. Have you had your Tetanus shot?"  
"I think so. Seriously, don't touch my wings. I don't even like touching them."  
"You want an infection?"  
"No."  
"Then they need to come out!" You heard the click of the flashlight behind you. You try pulling in your wings to feel sharp pain in your upper left wing. "Where does it hurt?"  
"Top left." You state. You felt something brush against your wing before a hand grips your wing," Is this glass?! There isn't even glass on this wall!"  
"So, no nail?"  
"There's a nail here, but there is a tiny glass piece in your feathers. Care to explain?"  
"Some hunters got me and I made a daring escape out a closed window. I thought I had gotten all the glass."  
"One way to check." You felt her gently move your wings," no more glass. Now..." You pulled away as you felt something yanked out of your wing. "Great, just two more!"  
"That..." Another yank on your wing," hey. Not cool." Once more a sharp pain.  
"Got 'em all. Now let's get this party started!"


	31. Chapter 31

Dave was coming home today. He even called and explained everything, but now you didn't want him driving. Everyone seems to get some sort of ticket in their driving career and no way were you letting something like that get him taken away. He was going to hate you.  
A knock sounded at the door and you opened it quickly. Dave was wearing a blanket for some reason, but you honestly didn't care. "Sup Bro." He stepped in before closing the door. He seemed caught off guard when you hugged him. "Missed you too."  
You actually felt something against your chest when you hugged him, backing up a step. "Lil' man, what was that?"  
He took off the blanket and unzipped his jacket down to where there was a huge lump. Out popped the head of a white cat sized bull. "His name is Tinkerbull."  
"What the hell Dave?"  
"I rescued him from certain death. Plus, now this cool guy can bust out without worrying about Tinkerbull."  
"What if they look here?"  
"That's the thing; they won't look here. Tinkerbull doesn't like strangers, so technically he shouldn't like me. Totally safe, I helped plan this out."  
What was he even thinking?

Mindfang came with you to lock down the gates, like usual. "You know, you've been here how long? Nine years?"  
"It doesn't matter. They aren't letting me go and if I manage to escape they'll just hurt Tinkerbull. I can't let them hurt him." You step into the open gate.  
Mindfang barely moved her lips. "He already escaped."  
"Wait, what?"  
Mindfang smiled, still unmoving for the camera so her lips couldn't be read. "Dave busted him out. Now punch me and run off."  
"I'm not sure. You're my friend."  
"Then finally kiss me and then punch me. This is your only chance to escape while no one knows Tinkerbull is gone."  
"Fine." You really didn't want to hurt her, but if you didn't want her to lose her job you had to do something. You pulled her into a quick kiss before shoving her behind the gate and snapping it shut.  
"Now run. Fly pupa, fly." You took no time to bolt down the hall, knowing the halls like the back of your hand. "Get back here!" You heard her shout for the cameras. You threw open several doors during your mad dash, only stopping a moment when you stepped out the front doors, shocked by how cold it was. No time to worry about that, so off you went into the night air. You almost couldn't believe you were free, and yet here you were.

You woke up with Tinkerbull nuzzled up to you. It was still really weird that he liked you, but it made it easier to bust him out. What exactly did fairy bulls even eat? You really should have asked Mindfang, because now you had no clue what to do. You got up, letting the little guy nap on your shoulder before walking into the kitchen. "Hey Dave!" John smiled from your kitchen.  
"How did you get in here, the window?"  
"No, I... awww, who's the little guy?"  
"This is Tinkerbull. Busted the little guy out so he wouldn't face certain death."  
"They were going to kill him? But he doesn't look like he could harm a fly."  
"Science doesn't care John. He would go down in four weeks, so I busted him out. No good evil science nerds, not keeping deals with awesome people." Tinkerbull yawned, blinking a few times before he noticed John. As soon as he did he fluttered up to John, sniffing at him. When he seemed satisfied he landed on your shoulder again.  
"He can fly?!" John asked in surprise, almost burning a pancake.  
"The wings aren't for show. He's chilling with me until his buddy busts out."  
"Who's his buddy? Another butterfly-bull?"  
"Actually, his buddy is a denizen gifts who didn't fully transform. The guy is a fairy bull mix, but I don't know how long it'll take for him to bust out and hightail it down here."  
"Oh, pancakes are ready." John tossed another on the growing tower.  
"How many did you make? Last time it took three days to eat them all, and a guy can only eat so many pancakes." Tinkerbull fluttered over, taking a bite out of the top pancake. "Well that solves two problems."  
"There, now stop worrying about the pancakes. You have backup."  
You open the fridge and notice two stacks," John..."  
"I thought you would be really hungry."  
"John, you have to stop this. No more coming over at unholy hours and making mountains of pancakes."  
"Yeah..."  
"Good thing you only made three stacks." John kept staring at the grill as he finished making the last pancakes. "How many?"  
"Oh you know, two, three... Hundred seventy-six."  
"Did you say three hundred seventy-six?"  
"Yes."  
You sigh," I don't even want to know how you got enough batter. How do you expect me to eat all these god damn pancakes? Someone better be coming over, because this is insane." As if on cue a knock sounded at the door.  
You open the door to be tackled by Karkat. "Don't be a hero next time you fucking idiot! We thought you wouldn't come back."  
"I wasn't a hero."  
"Yeah you were." John and Karkat said in unison.  
"Can you get off of me? My chest and wings are still sensitive." You wince when he presses down on your chest, but he does get off of you.  
"Why doeth your chetht hurt?" Sollux asked from his spot in the doorway.  
"You hook yourself up to monitors for a week and tell me how you feel." You hop up to your feet, hearing footsteps in the hall.  
"Hi guys!" Feferi smiled, dragging a cranky Eridan in with her.  
"It keeps happening."  
"What keeps happening?" Rose asked as she walked in with Kanaya, closing the door behind her.  
"Is my apartment just one nonstop party? With pancakes, I forgot John's heaps of psychotic pan made monstrosities. Who even makes more than fifty pancakes?"  
"Denny's, IHOP, my dad, some other restaurants." John shrugged, moving the many plates of pancakes to the counter. He had put them in the fridge, microwave, and oven.  
"Next time stop before a hundred. I don't need to figure out how to get rid of three hundred seventy pancakes. This isn't a cooking game John."  
"If it were, his level would be-" Kanaya started.  
"Don't do it."  
"-over nine thousand."  
"I give up. You have a minute, get the memes out of your system."  
"What meme?"  
"No more internet for you." You huff, nabbing a pancake.  
"What did you say?" Kanaya unclipped her flower hair clip. "Hold my flower."  
Rose grabbed the flower, holding back a laugh," I have your flower baby, go kick his posterior."  
"Not you too." You dodge Kanaya," Just kidding, you can have internet, just stop."  
"Wow, such Internet."  
"You're nuts."  
"Bitch, I might be."  
"Arrrgggggg!" You proceed to leave, only to trip over the futon and tumble onto the couch. "There's a joke here somewhere isn't there?"  
"Does he have the posterior?"  
"Oh man."  
"He does."  
"Is it just me or is it getting worse?"  
"Just you."  
"Anyone else coming?"  
"Gamzee said he might, but Terezi, Aradia, Tavros and Jade are coming for sure. Nepeta said something came up, same with Equius and Vriska." Karkat spoke up.  
"Might?"  
"He lives in a bad part of town, it's rough. Did you have something to tell him?"  
"Not sure if I should tell him."  
Karkat looked surprised," What do you mean?"  
"His brother is not the nicest of people."  
"What?!" The group exclaimed.  
"He has living family?!" Karkat yelled," How long have you known this? Who is he?!"  
"Found out two days ago. He went by Grand High Blood, and is one of the scientist working for English."  
"Why don't you want to tell Gamzee, this is great news!"  
"He tried to tear me apart, and drown me and..." You trail off as the memories bubbled up to the front of your mind. "No, no, no, no, no..." You grip your head as your feet slowly slip, dropping you to the floor. That look, that look like he had won, like he had you right where he wanted you, that he knew you were helpless just stared you down.  
"Dave?! Dave, are you alright?" Karkat crouched down, looking concerned. Everyone else fell silent.  
"I'm fine."  
"No your not. Dave, calm down, your safe."  
"But for how long?" You scoot further back.  
"Dave, you'll be safe for a long time."  
"From who? What if your step dad comes after me, or Feferi's sister? Or Scratch? English has an eye on my record, one ticket and it's over. I'll be dragged in for testing and locked away. I'm the only one who they've ever let go."  
"We have blackmail against Slick, remember? How did you convince them to let you out?"  
"Your brother helped me, that's how."  
"Wait, I have a brother?!"  
"Do we all have long lost brothers?" Rose asked," or is it just Gamzee and Karkat?"  
"As far as I know Gamzee, Karkat, you, Sollux, Tavros, even Equius have lost brothers. Kanaya and Nepeta have lost sisters."  
"I have a sister?" Kanaya looked up in shock. A knock sounded, Eridan opening the door. Aradia, Jade and Tavros walked in.  
"Uh, what's going on?" Tavros looked around the room confused.  
"You have a brother!" Feferi shouted.  
"Wait, what?" Tavros asked in confusion. Aradia closed the door. Tinkerbull peered around the stack of pancakes he had been munching behind. Suddenly he was really excited, flying over to Tavros and flying around him. "Huh?"  
"That's Tinkerbull. He probably thinks you're your brother."  
"What?" Tavros tried keeping up with the ball of energy, but Tinkerbull wouldn't stop circling him. The little guy decided to nuzzle Tavros, excited to see someone familiar. The thought of Tavros with bull horns and butterfly wings made you laugh.  
"I think he likes you."


	32. Chapter 32

The day quickly turned to night as the crappy movie marathon commenced. Honestly, you hadn't expected it to last this long. It was about five when Bro and Jaspers stumbled in from the 'emergency' that had popped up just outside of town. Bro had a gash in his jacket that he had his hand over, bee lining for the bathroom. Jaspers smiled his usual creepy smile," Hello there Dave, glad you made it back."  
"What happened?" You ask the creepy cat mix.  
"There were some issues, but otherwise it went well. Bro took a scratch to the arm during our predicament."  
"What were you guys even doing?"  
"We took on a nest, and a nasty one at that." He noticed Tinkerbull staring at him from Tavros' lap," Who is this curious little guy?"  
"That's Tinkerbull. He's cool." Tinkerbull fluttered up, doing his usual sniff in interest. He then grabbed the front of Jaspers' shirt and started pulling him towards the group. "He's never done that before."  
"Strange." Jaspers tried pulling back, but Tinkerbull was twenty pounds of determination on a mission. Jaspers then tossed off his jacket before letting Tinkerbull take his shirt. Jaspers' undershirt was splotched with dried blood, a gash across his chest still fresh.  
"Woah, what happened?" You get up, heading over to Jaspers.  
He didn't really react," It's just a scratch, nothing more."  
"If that's a scratch Bro should let me get my license."  
"Still no." Bro's muffled voice yelled from the bathroom.  
"It's fine, really." Jaspers kept smiling. You remembered your ability. You put your hand on the gash and focused. You heard some shocked replies, but a moment later you stepped back to see if it worked. Jaspers looked at the wound, looking back up," Thank you."  
You nod before going into the bathroom to find Bro stitching himself up. "Bro, let me see."  
"You sure little man? You freak out when you see things like this."  
"Only on birds." You look over the deep bloody gash, dripping blood on the counter. "Hold still." You state before cutting out the stitches, not wanting to risk having his arm heal over it.  
"What are you doing?" Bro kept moving his arm.  
"Hold still." You pull out all of the stitching before focusing. He tried pulling back, but quickly realized what was going on. It took much longer than it did with Jaspers, but on your third check his arm looked like nothing had happened.  
He just looked between you and his arm in shock. "How did you do that?"  
"I focus and it happens."  
"That is the vaguest explanation I've ever heard."  
"The vaguest thing I've ever heard is 'there were issues'. What did you guys do, and don't just say 'a nest' because I know you better than that."

He sighed," You know how Denizen gifts are extremely rare, but at one point they were one of the biggest populations around a thousand or so years ago."

That surprised you," I didn't know the last part."

"Well now you do. The hunt did start with a nest, but then Jaspers found something. It was a information about a market hidden not to far away, and seeing as how our only data was a buisness card, name list, and a grocery list, we thought it was a shadow market." Bro took said card from his pocket before tossing it on the counter. "Our first thought was a shadow market. Our suspicion was confirmed when we got there, but there was more than that. There was a fight ring. Someone caught on to what me and Jaspers were doing, so we ended up having to fight our way out."

You looked at the card. It was red with a black shadow form curled around the words 'Deadly Dreaming' and on the back was a bubble with silvery letters written in it. The looked scrambled, but reading them right to left it read 'clockworkwayundertheheatbridge'. It must mean the bridge covered red spray paint, not the other bridge on clockwork way that people actually used more than one color on. If you read top to bottom it read 'wreck kreary caught in the wood bled', which didn't make as much sense.

Bro took back the card. "Don't even think about it."

"Don't think about what?"

"Exactly." Bro got up, walking for the door.

"But Bro-"

"No buts. This place is dangerous on so many levels that me and Jaspers had problems handling it. I don't want to see you anywhere near there."

"I could help you!"

"I'm not losing you again." Bro snapped. You were stunned, dropping the discussion then and there. A knock at the door caught your attention. You open the door to see Summoner, soaking wet, in the doorway. Jaspers seemed confused, but heard Slick's footsteps the same time you did, so you both pulled him in before shutting the door. Bro looked surprised," Who is this?" At that moment Tinkerbull spotted him, circling him before nuzzling him.

"Hey, you're here!" Summoner hugged the little guy in his excitement.

Tavros seemed completely surprised. "Who are you?" He asked quietly.

Summoner looked over, surprised," Tavros?"

"How do you know my name?!" Tavros questioned, wide eyed.

"I shouldn't have expected you to remember, you were one last time I saw you. I'm your older brother, Summoner."

"What? Wait, are our parents, uh, alive?"

"Sadly no. It's just you and me left in the family line."

"Oh." Tavros seemed let down by this.

"I'm glad to finally meet you. I'm going to have to leave now." Tinkerbull fluttered behind Tavros, pushing him towards Summoner. "Tinkerbull, what are you doing?"

"Take Tavros with you. It isn't safe for dormants anymore." Bro looked up from his spot in the kitchen where he was cleaning off his katana," Besides, he's your family. You two should stick together."

"What do you mean dormants aren't safe?" Summoner asked in concern.

"A shadow market on the edge of town can awaken any sleeping denizen gifts. I saw them awaken some crazy haired goat boy before they realized I was snooping around. I'm pretty sure the poor kid made it out."

"Who was it?" You ask.

"Not sure, the kid wasn't facing me."

You knew he didn't know. Suddenly your mind turned to other thoughts. "Bro, everyone here but you are denizen gifts. What were they doing at the market?"

"Buying and selling of supernatural goods, just like any other shadow market. This one had ill gotten goods, but the place still fit the bill. More of a black shadow market really."

You weren't going to get him to talk. A knock on the door reminded you Karkat had gone to get one of his romcoms at the start of the last movie. The last movie was the directer's cut of _Avatar, _so you wonder what took so long. Knowing Karkat he probably had to sift through a tower taller than he was for just the right movie. You quickly opened the door for him to push his way in before slamming the door behind him. He was shaking and wrapped in his crab comforter. "Let me in you little runt!" Slick growled from the other side.

"Go away!" Karkat yelled at the door as he backed away.

"You ungrateful little shit, open the door."

"I have some great photos of you Slick," you loudly mention to the door," photos addressed for your colleagues."

"What you want kid?"

"Tell me what you did to Karkat."

"I can't tell you from the hallway."

"Then write me a note and slide it under the door." You here him grumble, but it didn't take long before a note was shoved under the door. You picked it up, eyes wide as you read it," Holy- what is wrong with you?"

"It's business kid."

"Go back to your apartment." You listen to him leave before turning to your terrified friend," Are you alright?"

"Do I look alright to you?!" Karkat pulled the puffy blanket tighter," I just went through the most intense pain of my life, and I've been shot in the foot!" His red eyes looked to the side," I can't ever leave my apartment again. Although," his arm held the spiral thing from all that time ago out," I nabbed this."

Bro immediately grabbed it before tossing it into the dishwasher. "What happened?" You continue, attention back on Karkat.

"He gave me a cupcake, which I should have found suspicious. Moments later I felt horrible, so I had an idea he was trying something and locked myself in the bathroom. Then this happened!" Karkat dropped the blanket, standing there in just his capris. His chest looked like it was covered in plates along with his legs, giving him a crab like appearance. The plates were whitish-red, but his nails were yellow. You notice the open cut across his palm, dripping onto the blanket.

You step forward, holding his wrist with one hand while healing the wound with the other. Karkat was surprised, watching in wonder. "There. What happened next?"

Karkat looked at his hand a moment before continuing. "It didn't take long for him to get the door open, or to pull out that, that whatever it is. He cut my palm, but I managed to get out. This was the only place I could really run to." Karkat noticed everyone looking, quickly wrapping up in his blanket again.

"Do you want to borrow a shirt?"

"Can I borrow pants too?"

"Yeah." You lead the way to your room, Karkat hot on your heels. You started digging through your clothes, tossing him sweat pants and an oversized black t shirt. Being the dork that Karkat was, he actually tucked his shirt into the sweatpants. "Really?"

"Yes really." Karkat glared at you.

"So, are your abilities active?"

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"I don't want to talk about it." He mumbled in his scratch voice, heading back to watch the next movie.


	33. Chapter 33

Tavros, Tinkerbull and Summoner decided to take off in the middle of the night in search of a safe place. Summoner mentioned something about heading to South America where it would be harder to track them. Everyone else stayed the night after finishing _Hitched_ since, as everyone said, they still needed to watch _Ghostbusters_. John jumped up and down excitedly until the movie played, but everyone fell asleep before even half way through. Swiping what Bro had left on the counter before going out, you decided it was time to make your move.

You climbed out the fire escape after locking your bedroom door, walking to Karkat's apartment. The streets were dark, the occasional lights dotting down the roads, but you didn't have to travel to far, at least not yet. You made your way down the hall, knocking on the door as soon as you reached it.

"Oh, it's you. Where's Karkat?" Slick asked.

"Sleeping on the couch at my place. I want to talk to you."

Slick eyed you a moment, but he let you in. "What do you want to know?"

"Is there a secret market at the first bridge on Clockwork Way?"

"How'd you know?"

You held out the card," I wanted to see what's going on."

"You understand you need a regular to go with you or you'll end up getting yourself killed, right? No just waltzing in." Slick was messing with some boxes as he said this.

"Why do you think I'm over here? It's not for fun and games."

"Alright. I don't do things for free, especially with the price of gas." Slick slid a mug across the counter towards you. "Knife should be over there. Blood for a guide, so deal or not?"

You pick up the knife that was stabbed into the chair next to you, slicing your palm before holding it over the cup. That was freaky as hell, but your curiosity made you shut up so you could see the market. As soon as your hand stopped dripping you healed up your hand, not even leaving a scar.

"Gettin' the hang of your ability?" Slick started already pouring the blood into seep rate vials.

"Yeah. What's Karkat's ability?"

"He can boil blood, but he's such a pansy that I know he won't ever practice it. It's a great ability in the hands of someone who's not to scared of themself to do anything." Slick finished up, marking the new vials before adding them to the box he had been messing with. He stacked up four boxes before glaring at you. "Carry this boxes. I will be playing you off as my apprentice to keep people from suspecting what you are. If people do find out you're going to have to wear this," Slick pulled out a collar from one of his cabinets," to mark you as mine. It keeps you safe because of market usage rules."

"Why do you have one of those already?"

"Aradia comes with me sometimes."

"Let's get going." You pick up the boxes, following Slick to his black van.

"Try finding a good jacket in the back. Your wings are obvious." Slick unlocked the van, taking the boxes from you. You looked desperately, but you only found one thing that could possibly work. It was a huge black sweater, but you put it on anyway before hopping in the front. "Wow kid, surprised you could find anything." Slick grumbled before starting up the vehicle and driving down the road. "Listen up, because I'm only saying this once. You, despite all reason, are extremely rare, so don't be a show off. Don't wander, don't even get more then ten feet away from me. I have to make some buisness deals to start off, then I'll lead you around. The is full of hunters, but then you've also got other beasts down there. If we stumble by one you have to put on the collar or market rules say they're allowed to attack. Actually, you might want to have it on from the start."

"I rather not."

"Fine, it's your neck on the line, not mine. Don't touch anything, don't let anyone lure you off, don't even talk to anyone with a red ribbon around their neck for more than a moment, and especially be aware of witches. Witches have orange wristbands, so keep your eyes peeled alright. It's simple stuff."

"What's wrong with anyone wearing red ribbon around their neck?"

"You'll realize it when you see one, it doesn't take a genius to figure it out." Slick drove one, the rest of the drive silent. As you approached the bridge he took a sharp turn into the woods, parking out of the roads' view. He has you carry the boxes.

You weren't sure what you expected, but a few hidden doors later you were following Slick through an underground maze of makeshift shacks offering things you for the most part had no clue about. It was loud and very busy. "Well rookie, this is the Kreary market, which services the whole county." Slick lead you further in, not stoping until he reached a little shack. "Set the boxes over here gently." Slick tapped the back counter.

You set down the boxes. "How long should it take to finish up?"

"Considering fights are up soon, not long."

A girl smacked the counter," Yo, Slick. Do you have that new stuff from a phase ago?" She smiled,"Oh, now who's this?"

"Pounce, this is Dave. He's my apprentice."

Pounce grinned, her mouth had enough teeth for two mouths," Well, hello there kid."

"How much? I've got another dozen."

"Three. Same price?"

"You know it."

Pounce pulled out a wad of bills, handing off several to Slick. "Alright, what else you got?"

"Usual, some cheaper stuff, and a new red spectrum. Blood ability."

Pounce's face lit up," How much?"

"Double the usual."

"How about a discount and if I win tonight I'll tip?"

"Win what?" You ask.

"Oh, the fight of course! I'm the reining champ. Not a scratch to my title." Pounce checked her watch," Oh man."

"I'll give you a deal today." Slick slid the vial across the counter.

Pounce slapped several more bills on the counter before heading out," Thanks Slick!"

"Do you ever just stop and realize you sold a bunch of kid's blood?" You mention as you stare at the vials.

"Everyday, but it pays well. We're heading out in twenty minutes."

"To where?"

"The fight. You can charge big because fighters get desperate."

"You are the most evil business man I've ever met."

"Stop that." Slick looked up to see a the short woman in the white and pink dress approach the counter. "Hello Miss Paint."

She smiled," Hello Slick. Oh, who is your helper today?"

"This is Dave. Say hello Dave."

"Hello." You state.

"Hello. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that their starting the fights early today."

"Well let's go then." Slick picked up the boxes, walking with Paint. You followed them, rather reluctantly to a large open space that two big guys were fighting in. You were starting to wonder what was going on when you were pulled to the side rather quickly. "Hey kid, remember what I said earlier?"

Your gaze fell to the collar in his hand," Seriously?"

"On or out, kid." Slick hands it to you. You toy with the red strap before putting it on unhappily, glaring at Slick.

Miss Paint bumped into you. "Sorry about that." She smiled, holding her box of snacks. The snacks were the most normal thing you had seen in the entire market. She continued selling them.

Slick came over, boxes obviously empty. "Sold them all."

"You're fucked up."

"I'm the nice one around here. You know what everyone else does for blood? They kill 'em, which gets rid of the source the fucking idiots."

You're shades hide most of your horrified expression. "Oh my god."

"You wanted to walk around?" Slick remembered, handing you a paper bag," take this over to the guy running the shop that has a green pillar coming off the top to the ceiling. I'll meet you here when your done." Slick motioned off behind you. Honestly it didn't take long to spot the huge green pillar that was probably acting as support. As you walked you couldn't help but notice how this place was basically a town with it's many buildings. You noticed noticed the red neck ribbon on someone leaning against a building.

The girl had a pink puffy skirt and white tank top, noticing you quickly. Damn she was hot. You shook the thought from your mind, wondering where it even came from. "Hey there." She smiled, giving you a wave before coming closer. You remember Slick saying to avoid red ribbon, but you didn't want to walk off and be rude, you had to say something back right?

"Hello." Actually, what even did the red ribbon mean? Would it be rude to ask? Why did you suddenly care?

She smiled at you, eyes drifting to the collar. "Denizen gifts huh? Are you new around here?"

"Is that what the collar means?"

"Yup. You really must be new if you don't know the markers."

"Markers?"

"Yeah, like orange wristbands for witches or collars for green clips for shape shifters and so on. It's so you can take precautions to keep anyone from getting hurt." She was so close, but you were surprisingly cool with it. "Maybe I can tell you them all and save you the trouble of having a mess up?"

"Thanks, that sounds like a great idea." You should be leaving, off on your errand, but you were trapped by the gaze of this girl and her big fushia eyes.

"Oh, you have a scratch on your hand!" She pulled you into the building she was leaning on," You need to cover that before someone smells it." Your brain wasn't thinking clearly at all. This hot girl just dragged you into her house and you were following her like an idiot. You could heal yourself, but you just couldn't find your words. The girl wrapped up your hand," There you go." She then kissed you.

You really didn't know why, but this girl seemed to be getting into it. Next thing you know your on your back with her still kissing you. You also realize that this might have been what Slick was warning you about. Markers must be for non-humans... stop drifting off brain, this is important shit you're dealing with. You hear chuckling and the girl let's go. You snap back to reality surprisingly fast.

You turn towards the sound to find Cal in the window frame, which is surprising since he hadn't moved much since Scratch's appearance. You take this opportunity to get the fuck out before something happens, Cal on your shoulder once you stepped out of the door. You ran for the building you were supposed to go to in the first place. You enter the building, noticing a gruff man with spiky hair. You just hand him the bag.

He opens it, reading the note inside. "This isn't going to be enough." The guy frowned, eyes stopping on you.

You weren't sure what to do, or even what it was you were getting. "So, how much more do I need then?" You ask, deciding to state it back to Slick.

His eyes were trained on your neck, making you really uncomfortable. "Denizen gifts with Slick right? What's your ability?"

"Something to do with flames, why?"

"Can you give an example?" You unwrap your hand, showing your cut before letting flames flick over it, making any trace vanish. The guy looked like he'd seen something impossible. "How did you do that?"

"It's my ability?" You felt unnerved by this guy staring at your hand in disbelief.

"You don't get it, do you? The blood line with that ability was killed off by hunters about sixteen years ago."

You suddenly understand why your house was destroyed and family dead when Bro found you, but something else came to mind. "What about making quills appear for defense?" You made a hands forward tossing motion to try to convey what you meant.

The guy's eyes couldn't seen to get bigger, his mouth dropping open a moment. "The bloodline was killed off around the same time."

"How many dead bloodlines are there?"

"A lot. Denizen gifts are near extinction."

"Oh."

"Tell you what, a few drops of blood and I'll give you your order."

"Why does everyone want my blood?"

"Deal or no?"

"Fine." He hands you a pin, and after pricking your finger you hand it back to him, trying to keep your blood from dripping on the counter. He pushed his tea cup saucer under your hand. You still couldn't believe you were doing this for something you didn't even know about, also the blood thing was freaking you out. He handed you another paper bag before you left, fixing up your hand as you headed back to Slick.

"About time. Is that your weird puppet?" Slick asked as you handed him the bag.

"No, this is lil' Cal." You fist bumped Cal. You look over to see a fireball from the fighting pit, Pounce being declared the winner. "Woah, did she just use my ability?"

"Yes. She uses it better than you do."

"Holy fuck." You notice her run up to Slick, triumphant look on her face. She pulled out a wad of cash, giving what looked like a third to Slick before smiling and skipping off. You couldn't believe what you had just seen. "How much did you just make?"

"More than minimum wage makes in three months."

You couldn't believe it. "In just that exchange?"

"Yeah. Let's go to Miss Paint's." Slick already lead the way, you following without much choice in it anyway. Miss Paint, as it turned out, made regular food incase someone just wanted something to eat without repercussions in a magical sense or crazy price. "Hello there Miss Paint." Slick had a slight smile. You just looked at him in surprise.

"Why hello." Miss Paint smiled," The usual? Oh, it's your friend Dave. Does he want something too?"

"Two of the usual please."


	34. Chapter 34

By the time you snuck back into your house Bro was hiding in your room. "Where did you sneak off to Dave?" He questioned.  
"No where."  
"You obviously went somewhere. Wouldn't have been the market I told you not to go to, would it?"  
"Nope."  
"Then how do I know your lying?"  
"Because you want any reason to ground me?"  
"Empty your pockets."  
"I seriously didn't go anywhere."  
"Then empty your pockets."  
You empty your pockets, forgetting Slick had given you the smaller bills he had gotten. This resulted in a huge wad of ones, fives, and even tens. You also had a pocket knife and, oh yeah, the dog collar you had to wear when you went to the market that you forgot to give back to Slick last night. You quickly realize this looks worse than going to the shadow market. "It's not what it looks like."  
"I swear to god Dave." Bro muttered. "Shirt off now."  
"I didn't do anything."  
"Now." You sigh as you take off your shirt and jacket in one fell swoop, accidentally knocking off your shades. "David Elizabeth Strider, is that a hickie?"  
"Some crazy girl kiss tackled me, and it's not a hickie."  
"Oh really?"  
"Yeah. Then Cal showed up and saved the day."  
"Wait, Cal saved you from some girl kissing you?"  
"Yeah why?"  
"I think that girl might have been a demon."  
"Ah yes, a normal day in the life of Dave Strider."  
"So why do you have a dog collar and wad of cash?"  
"Cause a want to look cool."  
"Still doesn't explain it."  
"I bet some drunk guy bet me I couldn't get it on."  
"You went to the market."  
"Define market."  
"You're grounded."  
"I'm already grounded."  
"You're double grounded."  
"Oh no, I'm ground. Someone end this agony!"  
"You're only allowed to eat pancakes now."  
"That's not cool Bro."  
"What's not cool is you sneaking out to a shadow market in the middle of the night."  
"At least no one suspected me at the market." Bro looked over in surprise. "Yeah, I didn't even get kicked out or anything. I even got soup."  
"You serious?"  
"Hell yeah. Had to follow the code system though."  
"How did you figure this out?"  
"Illegally."  
"Obviously, but how illegal?"  
"I may or may not have made a deal with Slick that helped someone in a fight ring."  
"So much for being a model citizen. Still be careful though, now go to school."  
"But I was up all night."  
"Yeah, well go to school." Bro tossed you tour backpack. You sadly comply, noticing your friends already left. You decide to start running.

You've been getting weird glances and stares all day; it's driving you nuts. When it finally came lunch you went to sit with your friends, noticing Karkat back in his old look of a baggy black sweater and dark sweatpants, nails painted black. "Hey Strider." Karkat stated, staring at his sandwich.  
"Sup Karkat?"  
He looked up at you, suddenly surprised. "Where did your shades go?"  
You brought a hand to your face, realizing why it had been so bright today. "Fuck, I don't have anymore shades. Is that what everyone was acting weird about?"  
"There's also a rumor that your the bird kid, but the eyes are also causing a problem."  
"Maybe the nurse has-" you remember your last nurse office visit," shit, um..." You try to come up with something, but end up calling Bro.  
"Sup lil' man, what's up?"  
"I forgot my shades."  
"Do you have Cal?"  
"Yeah."  
"He might have them, so check your bag."  
You check your bag, finding Cal holding your shades," What the hell?"  
"So you have them?"  
You put them on. "Yes."  
"Don't forget them next time. I've got to go."  
"Alright Bro." You hang up, already done dealing with today. "I'm so done with today."  
"You're done with today? I still have to deal with my step dad when I get home and who knows if Sollux is next!"  
"Speaking of which, where is he? He wasn't in calculus with me."  
Karkat thought about this a long time before pulling out his phone and texting his friend. "He says he didn't feel to good."  
"I'll check on him after school."

"What do you mean he at a special cupcake?!" You growl at Deuce.  
The short man shrugged. "Slick had an extra."  
"How many more spiked cupcakes are there?"  
"About a dozen. Droog is spiking Aradia's cupcake behind her back."  
"I swear you need help." You remember that Rose was inviting everyone over for Feferi's birthday since Condense wouldn't allow anyone over. "Where's Sollux?"  
"In his room."  
"He needs to go to a party, can I go get him?"  
"Oh yeah, go ahead!" Deuce stepped out of the way for you. You ran in, immediately opening Sollux's door to find a fluffy tail poking out from under the bed.  
"Sollux? Sollux are you alright?"  
"Fuck off."  
"Nah, I rather not. Hey, come on I need your help."  
"With what?"  
"I can't drive and I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to fly. Plus, if you stay here Slick will be after you. Come on, everyone is going to end up eating those cupcakes."  
"What?! Ow!" Sollux crawled out from under the bed. He stood up, tugging his blanket over himself as he stumbled over to the closet, tossing countless things as he dug through it. He emerged with a trilby, tossing it on as he looked for something else.  
"That has to be the fluffiest tail I've ever seen."  
"Deuthe thayth my family was fox mixeth know for there crazy energy powerth." He digs out a trench coat, tossing it on before running out of his room, you following close behind.  
"Bye son!" Deuce waved happily," Have fun at your party!"  
You and Sollux bolt down the stairs, practically jumping in his car. "Drive!" You suddenly feel the need to buckle faster as he backs out quickly, hitting the gas as he rockets down the street, horns blaring as he drives past. "Hey, slow down! A parking ticket and we're both in trouble!"  
"You told me to drive!"  
"Yeah drive, not fly. Flying's my thing."  
"You should get a lithenthe."  
"Bro won't let me."  
"Then let me drive already!" Several times you thought you were going to die due to his driving, yet surprisingly he was good at driving like a psyco. He slowed down as he got close and you jumped out before the car even reached a full stop. You hit the door bell, and when no one answered you hit it again.  
"Stop ringing it twenty times!" John opened the door, letting you in.  
"Aradia's cupcakes were spiked, don't eat them!"  
Rose looked at you confused. "What do you mean?"  
"Droog apparently put something in them when she wasn't looking that would make you guys wake up, so once again don't eat them."  
"I wish you had come. Earlier, because all the cupcakes are on the table without much clue to which is which." You look at the table to see that she was right. There were enough cupcakes it blanketed the table.  
"Great, now it's cupcake roulette where the wrong one means terrible things." You look over to see Sollux come in.  
"No one eat the cupcaketh!" He stated.  
"As I told Dave, we might have a problem with this due to our cupcake placement. Why are you dressed like that?"  
"Becauthe of reathonth."  
"Deuce got you, didn't he?"  
"Well aren't you jutht tho thmart?" Sollux frowns, stomping over to the couch to talk to Feferi.  
"So do you remember which is which, at least just a little?"  
"None at all. If anyone, it would be John since he set up all the cupcakes." Rose grabbed one at random. "I hope this is normal." She ate it, and when nothing happened she relaxed a bit. Not a moment later she ran for the bathroom.  
"Okay, so that wasn't any good." You weren't sure if you should go after her or see if you could find any differences. Honestly, they all looked exactly the same; they had the same paper liners and everything. "John, get your ass over here."  
"What is it Dave?" John asked happily.  
"Which ones are Aradia's?"  
"I don't know, I didn't keep track."  
"John, this is the difference between having a normal life, or ending up like me. Try to remember which ones are which."  
John looked surprised to say the least, nervously looking at the cupcakes from different angles for a long time before huffing in frustration. "I really can't remember! I spaced them out though, so the edge should be completely safe. I know for sure only one on the edge is Aradia's." John ate one off the edge. He quickly fell to his knees, clutching his sides.  
"How did you get the only tainted one around the edge?" You crouch down," You alright there John?"  
"I...t...hur...ts." He wobbled on his knees and you quickly grabbed hold to help hold him upright, wrapping one arme around him. Wasn't his family line salamanders? Wait, don't salamanders have tails? You quickly pic up John. "Da...ve?" He asks as you carry him to Rose's room.  
"I'm going to leave you in Rose's room, alright? You'll be okay, I promise."  
"Da...ve..."  
"Yes?"  
"Wha... t's... happ... ening?"  
You remember that John doesn't know about his family, his dad being the only family he had left. "John, your a denizen gifts like me, but you weren't supposed to transform." He looked shocked, but his expression quickly went back to pain. "Your family is salamanders, so don't be surprised if you grow a tail."  
"What?!" John tried sitting up, but he gave up quickly gave up. He was shaking now, probably scared half to death. How did you forget to tell him this? You quickly realize that painful for you and painful for John were to different things and that he had almost no pain tolerance. You had protected your best bro from bullies since kindergarten when you meet him, so he hadn't really been through pain at school. His dad loved him to death, so you can't see him getting hurt there, and you were sure from how John reacted to Karkat in middle school that he didn't hurt himself. Now that you think of it, he hasn't had to deal with much pain at all until now. Your transformation was the worst pain you had ever felt, same you would guess for Karkat, so couldn't even imagine how John felt.  
"I'm so sorry." You could only sit and watch your best friend go through the worst pain off his entire life.


	35. Chapter 35

You had to be snapped out of your own thoughts by John to even realize what was going on around you. "Dave! Earth to Dave, do you read?!"  
"Dave to earth, copy that." You see John is still exhausted looking, laying on his side, but his transformation hit you like a freight train. He had a really long tail that went past his feet and some more webbing on his hands and feet. You still couldn't get over how long his tail was, staring at it.  
"What are you- oh yeah. How am I supposed to hide this?" John looked a bit panicked.  
"Calm down, I'm thinking. Have you thought of pursuing a career in auto insurance?"  
"Dave this is serious!" John sat up, noticing his feet and hands. "What?!"  
"Calm down, you could wear gloves."  
"But what about my tail? I'm so screwed."  
"You haven't been screwed yet, so your still safe."  
"No I'm not."  
"Fine, but safer."  
"How am I supposed to explain this to my dad?" John was on his feet in moments, pacing.  
"Your dad already knew the risk when you were born. At least one of your parents has to be a denizen gifts for you to be one." You notice that standing up his tail only reaches his ankles, an idea coming to mind. "Have you considered wearing a tail?"  
John looked over," Oh yes, here let me wear a tail next to my real one."  
"No, like cover your real tail with a fake furry clip on tail. And you could wear gloves to cover up the webbed hands."  
John thought about this. "That might work." You both stop as you her someone knock on the doorframe, catching the attention of the two of you. Rose had two big black cat ears on her head, and you could see a black tail between her legs. She tried to play her poker face anyway, acting like nothing happened.  
"This is ridiculous." Rose ended up having to hold her skirt down so that her tail didn't pull it up, ears flicking back. "Although, I think I know who my brother is now."  
"As long as you don't start smiling every time you see me it should be fine." You already felt nervous around her, but no secrets from this bird kid.  
"I see what he meant though. You really do give off the impression of prey at first glance." Rose glared off to the side.  
"I'm sorry?" You think you just felt had a mini heart attack.  
She looked at you ears up, tail letting go of her skirt. She then sighed," Don't act like that, I can hear it."  
You and John exchanged glances. "I'm going to make sure no one else eats cupcakes." John then cautiously edges his way out of the room.  
"So... Did you need anything?"  
Rose shook her head and left. You took off your binder, stretching your wings. Math says that since those two cupcakes were gone out of the eighteen dozen, the chance of someone getting one was 10/216 and it would only work with 8/14 of you and so... you need to calm the fuck down. What's the chance someone would get another one?

So, the only not awoken people left are Feferi, Eridan (who stopped eating cupcakes after John transformed), and Equius. Equius looks heartbroken, watching Nepeta dig her nails into the sides of her head as she kicked out, trying not to make any cry out in pain. "I...m...fi...ne..."she tried smiling at him but she ended up almost falling to her side, and would have if Equius hadn't made sure she didn't. He just hugged her, unable to do a thing.  
Her tail, which just appeared, was curled tight around her. After a few more moments she relaxed, slowly letting go of her head to reveal to large cat ears. "Nepeta?" Equius asked quietly.  
She smiled," I'm okay!" Equius just hugged her. She laughed," I'm fine, really!"  
"So, at this point should we get rid of the cupcakes?" You ask again, like you did every time someone transformed.  
Equius didn't respond, Eridan grumbled something along the lines of it being Fef's decision, and Feferi smiled," No, it should be fine, but thanks for offering!"  
"At this rate the only normal ones will be me, Tav, and Gam." Eridan muttered.  
"Actually, were is Gamzee? I haven't seen him since I was captured."  
"Actually, he disappeared the day after you came back." Karkat stated, concern written on his face. "I thought he was avoiding me, but he hasn't talked to you guys either?"  
A string of no and sorry no clues before everyone was concerned. You look out the window to see that it's dark outside. "Let's go." You stand up.  
"Wait, what?" Karkat looked over to you.  
"I can help you look for Gamzee while everyone else continues the party." Karkat follows you out to the backyard. "You were supposed to go out front while I followed from the sky."  
"How much can you lift?"  
"Depends, air or ground?"

"This is amazing!" Karkat laughed as you struggled to keep flying.  
"How did you trick me into this?" You grunt as you power on. He was heavy, but Summoner was still heavier than he was so you managed to power on through the night.  
"Left here, land on the roof over there!" Karkat shouted over the wind. You follow his instructions, landing as lightly as possible on the abandoned warehouse. Karkat races down the fire escape, but you just hop down from the roof. "What are you doing?!"  
"Getting down the easiest and fastest. You can do this too once you get the practice." You wait for him before heading inside. The warehouse was bare except for trash and scattered blankets off to the side. You spot Gamzee's guitar broken on the floor. "Oh shit." You run over, wondering if Grand High Blood somehow found him to spot blood. The guy nearly killed you to make sure his brother was safe, so it couldn't have been him.  
"Gamzee?! Gamzee, are you here!" Karkat yelled, looking around in panic.  
"Karkat, calm down. He's not here, but we have a lead." You investigate the area with the blankets and shattered guitar, noticing blood didn't even reach the guitar, but a near by switchblade. Shattered glass was underfoot, sprinkled with blood as well. The big evidence lay in the thing that was truly unmistakable. It was the symbol that was used by hunters at the shadow market in town on a broken chain.  
You don't know how long it took, but you heard Karkat saying something. You look down to see that you had gone up in flames, lighting up the whole warehouse. "Dave... Dave... Dave, Can you here me?!" You finally get that Karkat is screaming at you, not being able to get close without being burned. You quickly forced the flames to disappear, feeling exhausted. Your vision blurred and you collapse. You swear you heard Karkat shout something, but you don't know.

"Get away!" Karkat growls, standing over you.  
"I'm here for the kid you freak!" Growled a deep voice.  
"Am I really the freak here? I'm a law obeying citizen who wants to check on a homeless man to make sure he's okay while you are a murdering psychopath who sells his victims for parts! One more step and I'll claw your face of!"  
"What the hell have you been smoking?! There's an unconscious kid on the ground, I just want to make sure he's not dead!"  
Karkat relaxed about an inch. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"  
"Wait, wait one moment. Are you saying there is a murderous psycho killing people for parts in this town? This exact town?!"  
"Did you not just fucking hear me? Are your ears plugged? Yes, there are murderous psychos in the area! Why else would I not let you near my friend?!"  
The guy was silent. "I mean no harm, here, I'll even show you my badge. Everyone calls me Officer A.R. I'm an investigator who was checking the area for a runaway. Have you heard of a boy called Tavros Nitram?"  
"He's running from one of the murderers. With his track record I wouldn't be surprised if he's halfway to Mexico right now."  
"And yet your still here."  
"I've got people to protect, now what do you want?" He growled.  
"I just want to make sure the kid is okay." Hearing this you try to sit up, but you feel heavier.  
"Dave!" Karkat quickly steps back before dropping on his knees next to you. "Dave, their gone."  
"What?" You try sitting up, but your wings do nothing to help you, not even a rustle of feathers as Karkat helps you sit up. Actually, did his whole arm get around your back? You look at your arm to see the markings completely gone. You feel the plates on Karkat's chest, but you seem to be back to normal. "Was it a dream?" You mumble.  
"No, it wasn't. What happened to you Dave?" Karkat asked, worry in his face.  
"I don't know." You quickly take of your shoes, checking your feet before feeling your neck. You focus hard as you can, but only to see for a faint second a single ember.  
The cop noticed the single ember, giving you a surprised look. "Where did that come from? I don't see any lighters."  
"Nothing. I don't understand." You and Karkat exchange confused glances. It was then that you realized that you could feel a numbed version of right before your transformation. "Oh no, school is tomorrow!" You act out like you care," We've got to go!" You grab Karkat's wrist as you bolted away, officer's voice sounding behind you. You duck behind a dumpster, watching the cop run past before going to the fire escape and climbing to the roof.  
"Dave, what the hell did you do?!" Karkat asked, looking scared.  
"I really don't know, but my powers aren't working."  
"Don't sound so laid back, fuck! You're wings disappeared in a ball of flames along with the markings!"  
"More than that, believe me." You think, an idea coming to mind. "Karkat, can you feel my back were my wings were?"  
He looks at you like you sprouted... actually that metaphor doesn't work here, along with several others. "Um, okay?" He made a motion for you to turn around, so you do. You pull your shirt to your shoulders, pulling back when you felt his cold hands at first. He really was feeling your back before he answered. "It almost feels like there's wings underneath."  
"There probably are."  
"Wait, what?"  
"Technically all transformations are wounds, and in a moment where I wanted it to go away, it did. The only thing is how long does this last?"  
"You've been out for an hour so far."  
"Really?"  
"It's been almost thirty more minutes."  
"Oh- fuck!" You bit back as you felt sharp pain in your back along with that general all over pain, like back when you transformed.  
"Dave?! Your wings just moved!"  
"I'm fine." You gasp, gritting your teeth. You had to relive the transformation, but this time your powers were active. As you turned into a fireball you realize there is a good reason you don't start with active abilities. Pain leaves much faster now though, and very quickly you have lost enough of the pain that you can fly the two of you home, but just barely.


	36. Chapter 36

Here are some quick guides;  
1) School is a daycare with learning goals  
2) Self study is the best study cause it's faster  
3) School is full of mean people, so it makes school suck  
4) In an emergency you can hide earbuds in your binder where teachers can't take them  
5) Don't let Terezi order pizza. She will just get you a bunch of cherry covered pizza  
6) Don't like it? Remix it, or listen to something else  
7) No more cupcake parties  
8) Never tell everyone to dress furry style again, refer to #3  
And oh yeah  
9) The office people aren't after you, so next time don't act like you're thinking that until you uncover proof  
You pull a Karkat as you awkwardly crab walk out of the office. You didn't mean to throw the stapler at the woman at the desk, you mistaked her necklace charm for the one the market uses on accident. You managed to get out of detention because she had no clue who you were and didn't want to follow you. Crab walks for everything.  
You walk normal again because you are not Karkat and, along with not being part crab, have no crab walk practice. You run into Karkat as you both head for the last class of the day.

You knew your brother would be at this school, walking onward. Why would that kid lie with his life on the line? You bump into someone wearing a ragged purple hoodie. "Sorry 'bout that."  
"Oh it's fine." You anwser," Is S. Burb High this way?"  
"Yeah bro. Here, I'll show you." The purple hooded guy lead the way through round about shortcuts, stopping at the bus stop area of the high school.  
"Thank you, do you go here?"  
"Yeah, but I've been having a rough few days. I'm just waiting for my best bro." He turns and you recognize that look. It reminded you of your mother, hair silvery black and fluffy. He looked at you in surprise.  
"Gamzee?" He suddenly looked scared, eyes darting around nervously. "Gamzee, what's wrong?"  
"You're one of them!" Gamzee took a step back," I won't go back, you can't make me fight no more!"  
"What are you talking about?" His hand went to his pocket. "Gamzee!" You take a step forward, feeling sharp pain as you felt yourself choke on something. You felt something slide from your chest as you collapsed to your knees. "I'm sorry I wasn't... wasn't there for... you... little Gammy." You cough up blood between words.  
His eyes widen in realization. "Bro?"  
You smile, dropping it as you cough again. "I'm sorry."  
His voice was fuzzy as you faded away.

The school was on lock down, but now you were all released for the buses. "I think we should check the downtown area." Karkat thought aloud.  
"Whatever you say. I don't have much clues." You notice the police off to the side standing around a tarp. "A body has been discovered."  
"I wonder who it is." Karkat stated. As if in answer the wind whipped up, carrying the tarp back enough to see the scene. You couldn't believe your eyes.  
Grand High Blood lay in a pool of blood on the ground, but then you notice Gamzee. His hands were wrapped around his switchblade loosely from where it was stabbed into his chest. His hoodie was speckled in blood and you could see the beginnings of horns on his head. Your first thought was to check on Karkat. He was crying. "Gamzee...?" He breathed. You picked him up, carrying him away. You shut out the screaming and decided to skip the bus so he wouldn't have to see it again. You couldn't feel anything anymore, even as Karkat begged for you to save Gamzee, to make sure he could have a proper burial or try to revive him if at all possible. He switched from shouts to begging to threats, but you marched on, heading home in complete poker faced silence. You stop right before you're block, Karkat sniffling now.  
"Where do you want to go?" You ask quietly.  
"With Gamzee."  
"Do you know what you're asking?"  
"I don't care!"  
"Karkat, we'll never see you again."  
"It's my l-life, now let me go!"  
"I know it's your life, but do you really want to hurt everybody like how this makes you feel? If you don't care then I don't either. I will go with you as you're put through horrible things."  
"You can't. Bro-"  
"So you can, but I can't?"  
"I... I... I can't answer you."  
"I wanted to know if you wanted to go home because of your dad."  
He was silent, not answering. You take him to your apartment, deciding to wait for bro to come back. As time goes on, talkative Karkat remains silent. In an attempt to get him to talk, you put on Fresh Prince of Belair. Eventually you end up making jokes with it, trying to get Karkat to do something besides stare at the wall.  
When Bro came in with Jaspers you were at the point were you were just sitting there hugging him in an attempt to get him to respond. "What going on?" Bro asked.  
"Were watching tv."  
"Why is he so quiet?"  
"Gamzee was in an accident."  
"You're tall friend with the purple hood?"  
"Yeah."  
"Dave, he's dead."  
"No, he's asleep." You somehow couldn't imagine Gamzee dead.  
"Did you see the scene?"  
"Yes."  
"You saw under the tarp?"  
"Yes."  
"Then you know he's dead."  
"He's just sleeping. Watch, he will be at school tomorrow."  
"Dave, I'm sorry, but he's not coming back."  
"Yes he is." You hug Karkat who hugs back, but he still doesn't say a thing.  
"I'll give you time to deal with this, but you need to know that he's dead, not asleep."  
You hugged Karkat as the move went on. You heard Bro calling several people in the background, but you try to pay attention. After a while Jaspers sat down next to the to of you, dropping the smile for once.  
"What is this show about?" Jaspers asked. You didn't really know how to explain it. He sighed," I know how hard this is, but you can't just bottle this up. Talk about it, accept that he's gone and learn to keep going."  
"Is that why Rose doesn't have her brother, or her dad?"  
He froze. "What are you talking about?"  
"You left her behind. Was that how you dealt with it?"  
"I left her to keep her safe."  
"What a great brother you were."  
"I had to deal with hunter killing my family in front of me because of what they were, I didn't want her to be next. I did the best a sixteen year old could do in my judgement."  
"To bad it didn't work."  
He turned to you," What? She's sixteen, she's safe."  
"You remember you're trip, the goat kid you saw with the purple hoodie." He stiffened next to you as you said this," No one is really safe, not even if they believe they are. Go ahead, check on Rose for yourself."  
"What happened?"  
"Don't worry, she's alive. The black cat thing runs in the family, huh?"  
Jaspers had a look of horror on his face before hopping up and going over to tell Bro something.  
You don't really care, just like back after your first escape.  
Because the thought rang through your head.  
How long before you were caught again?  
Or would you die first?


	37. Chapter 37

As the week went on, many things changed. Vriska was pulled out of school, her aunt running away with her before English found out. It must have worked because no one else knew what happened. Honestly, being mixed with a bear couldn't have been that bad, but it was probably better safe than sorry anyway. Eridan's uncle followed suit.  
Equius was having problems once his powers started coming in effect, accidently breaking things you didn't think were that easy to break. Nepeta helped cover it up in case someone decided to ask questions.  
You have to say, furry John is the funniest thing you've ever seen. With his tip-less gloves, bright blue tail and white clip on ears he just looked so strange to you that seeing him made it hard not to laugh. However, as soon as Karkat saw it he laughed so hard he almost was taken to the nurse's office. You were just glad he was back to talking again.  
But life had it in for you and your friends, that much was clear. You came home to see the news on and Bro gone. "So tell us what attacked you?" A news anchor asked.  
"It was an odd creature, much like the black winged child." Scratch stated. You turn to see him on the news, flinching. Scattered notes lie around the table, bits and pieces of newspaper along with a list of locations carelessly scribbled on a napkin. You quickly realize the went looking for Rose. You race out of your apartment.  
You spent hours running through town yelling 'Rose' over and over. You didn't stop running, even heading out of town to search along the outskirts. You hear someone yell back. You run that direction, finding yelling louder. You then realize the replies are from above you.  
"Dave..." John dangled from his ankle higher up in the tree. He was holding his glasses on with one hand, letting the other arm dangle in an attempt to get someone's attention.  
"What are you doing in a tree?"  
"Oh you know," John smiled," just hanging around."  
"I meant how did you ended up in the tree."  
"I was running with Rose after Scratch came after us."  
"You serious?"  
"Yes I'm serious, but right now we have to help Rose!"  
"What happened?"  
"She was several steps back from your point along the bear trap line." You look to see the still red edges of the bear trap now reset, memories trying to resurface. "Don't step in it!"  
"I'm not going to step in, give me more credit than that."  
"I think the lady didn't notice me."  
"Oh crap, Rose!" You forgot everything at home, except... you notice lil' Cal on your shoulder. A quick check of his hat and you find the piece of glass you never removed. You start sawing at the rope with the glass, but mainly you cut up your hand when the glass would slip. As the rope snapped, you realized John was directly above you. You both fell over. "Dammit John, stop being so heavy."  
"Sorry!" John got up, helping you up. "Oh, let's go." You both ran off through the forest, keeping your eyes open for bear traps. By the time you found a cabin it was dark. You notice John's eyes doing the glowing thing. "What?" You lift your shades, dropping them back down so John would get it. "Wait, are my eyes doing that?"  
"Yeah."  
He stared at his reflection in your shades. "Woah, that's actually pretty cool!" John looked around," Is that why everything seems so bright?"  
"Yes." John seemed so excited by his abilities. "We need to somehow break in."  
"My ears have wire in them." John unclipped one of his wolf ears from his hair, handing it to you helpfully. You manage to pull out the wire, fiddling with the lock before pushing the door open. You heard the growling of the big white dog before you shut the door.  
"There's a dog inside."  
"Maybe we can lure it outside?"  
"Hold on, I've heard it's name before. Peemen? Pelmen? Premed? P something M... Wait, PM. Maybe that's all it is?" You give up, opening the door. The dog was definitely from the truck, barking and snarling at you. You heard something in the back room, deciding to take the dog on like a crazy. The dog leaped at you, and you jumped out of the way as the dog hit the wall head first with a loud thump.  
You head of to where you heard the noise, opening the door. Rose was in one of the two dog crates. "Dave?" She asked. You step in front of the solid sided cage to the front grate, already trying to bust open the lock. "So it is you."  
"Yeah." You weren't doing so well with unlocking the cage.  
"Is John here?"  
"He's out front." It would be easier just to melt the grate, but the cage was to small to try that without risking harm to Rose. Wait, what about the solid sides? "Rose, back up as much as you can." She listened without protest. You started trying to melt away the side with the lock on it towards the front, focusing on getting it to break.  
"Someone's coming, hide." You keep melting away. "It's not John, move!" You look around, hiding under the bed in the corner. You start hearing the footsteps too, freezing up when you see the black boots.  
"Well, what happened here?" The woman asked.  
"Your dog doesn't like me."  
"Oh really?" Condense moved closer," Then why is it hot?"  
"I don't know what you're talking about."  
"Then touch the plastic... No? That's what I thought. You really think I'm not going to notice a melting dog crate corner? You must be think I'm stupid as hell."  
"I was hoping you're eyesight was worse."  
"You guys seem to be everywhere. Where are you coming from?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"My sister was turned into one of you freaks." She kicked the cage roughly. "What are you? Where are you coming from?"  
"It's genetic, we are coming from the same place other babies come from. We are human, understand?"  
"No you're not." She started dragging the cage off. You crawl out from under the bed just as you hear the door shut. You get out side to see John pinned to a tree, struggling desperately to escape the woman's grip. "... thinking you cold sneak up on me huh?" You step closer, but you forgot the other dog until he clamped down on your ankle.  
"No!" You accidentally catch the dogs fur on fire, who lets go as he runs off.  
"Stupid dog." The woman throws John into the side of her truck hard before looking over to you angrily. "You again? Damn do you show up often." You noticed the gleam of metal from her hand as she stepped closer. You took a step back, slipping on your now obviously broken ankle. She smirked, and for a moment you swore it was game over.  
The kid with white hair? Wait, it was Cal! Cal had grabbed Condense's wrist from behind, laughing. You heard the snap of her wrist before she spun around to face him, being sent flying back not seconds later. When she collapsed to the ground, you knew she wasn't getting up for a while. By the time you blinked Cal was once again a puppet on the ground.  
"Why did I stop carrying you?" You picked him up, limping over to John. "John are you alright?"  
"I did it!" He jumped up.  
"Did what?"  
"I made some wind cushion the blow! That easily could have been worse."  
"Are you hurt?"  
"Nah, I'm fine. You should fix up your ankle though." You listen, flames dancing around your foot a moment before you hopped in the truck. John hopped in. "Rose, are you okay?"  
"It's just my ankle, otherwise yes."  
"Hold on, you'll be out in no time at all." You get to work trying to melt the plastic, but your energy is draining fast so you just force the weekend plastic back before tearing out the grate roughly and throwing it. "Here, let me see your ankle."  
"You seem tired, are you sure?"  
"You can't walk on a broken ankle Rose." She sighs, but she slides her ankle closer. You burn through the cloth as you heal her ankle. "Ther-" you start, but you end up almost falling asleep mid sentence.  
"Guess we're going to have to help you home." John then helped you out of the truck, Rose sporting one side while John the other. As you guys reached the bear trap line you spotted a pair of glowing eyes.  
"I found you guys!" Jade smiled. "Hey, what's wrong with Dave?"  
"He's tired." John pushed Cal back onto your shoulder. "Never fight the lady who kills bears for a living."  
"Stop!" Jade did a weird step-hop while holding her hands out to stop you guys. "You almost stepped on a bear trap!"  
"Great."  
"Not great." A gruff old man commented. You quickly realize it's Mister Harley, Jade's sort-of grandfather.  
"That was sarcasm."  
"No time dilly dallying, let's go." He tossed you onto his shoulder before continuing to walk.  
"How'd you find us?" John asked.  
"My granddaughter tracked you down. Strider and Lalonde are worried sick, and I'm not even sure if anyone had it in them to tell Mr. Egbert his son was missing." You didn't have enough strength to fight against being carried with your bottom up in the air, you could barely stay awake as it is. Actually, taking a nap would be great.


	38. Chapter 38

You woke up rather late, in your room of all places. Weren't you in the forest? You give up thinking about this and go eat the stack of pancakes you find in your kitchen. Today you were going to go to Sollux's apartment to work on the calculus project. You were actually feeling good today.  
Then everything changed when you opened the door. Scratch was literally about to knock on the door when you opened it. "I fucking swear I'll get a restraining order." You slam the door shut, locking it for good measure. This guy literally just got out of the hospital. He knocked on your door.  
The only way to Sollux's house was through the front door, and you had to hurry before Sollux got feed up and came over here. You look at the clock, realizing you were supposed to be over there five minutes ago. You grab a katana, holding on tightly as you open the door. "Leave already. This is getting ridiculous."  
He eyed the sword nonchalantly, looking back up at you. "Says the one with the sword."  
"It's for safety reasons. I'm getting real sick and tired of being attacked."  
"I heard you were released on the terms of no broken laws or charges."  
"Go away."  
"You threatened assault with a deadly weapon."  
You froze, staring him down. "Are you seriously threatening me?"  
"Are you seriously holding a sword in a fighting position?"  
You try slamming the door shut but you just get shoved back. You tumble back dazed, getting up quickly only to be knocked over again. "What the..." You trying getting up only to find yourself pinned to the ground. "You seriously can't leave me alone can you?"  
"What the fuck ith going on?!" Sollux stomps in, wearing a fedora and oversized pants. Sollux wasn't stupid; he knew if Scratch took you down that getting too close was a bad idea. "Get of of my friend right now!"  
"You realize what he is, correct?"  
"Yeth I know, now get off of him!" Sollux growled. This was a mistake, because Sollux had sharper canines than normal.  
"How many strange creatures are in this town?" Scratch pulled a broken white shard, sticking it in your pocket before getting up. You felt groggy as hell, almost sick. Sollux realized Scratch was now after him, but the guy had guts and didn't back down. Scratch went flying back after being hit with what you swore were sparks. Sollux did this again, panting a little. He didn't exactly have a ton of practice time or endurance with his ability, so you knew it was only so long before he would have to resort to punching. Scratch hit Sollux hard, knocking him back into the wall. Sollux whimpered a moment, hat knocked off and glasses slipping. Funny thing about his glasses; they were just 3D glasses he wore to look cool. As they slipped off you saw that his eyes corresponded with the colors, bright red on the left and deep blue on the right.  
"Oh fuck." Sollux mumbled, scrambling to get them back on. Scratch pinned him to the wall in moments, wrists to the side, pulling his glasses with his hand to the side. You managed to get to your feet, but you felt heavy. You slip on a feather, looking out the open door. Bro was literally just coming into the hallway, now running in.  
He slammed the door open angrily. "Get the fuck out of my apartment!" Bro yanked Scratch up before tossing him out. "Are you two alright?"  
You try to pull the thing from your pocket, but directly touching it made you feel like you were violently ill. Bro caught on quickly, pulling the shard from your pocket before eyeing it. "What is it?"  
"Their called Dragon Tears, but usually they're in a perfectly round white ball. Something about these weaken magic users significantly, almost to the point of killing them if there's to much of it around." He looked over the white shard, flipping it in his hands before deciding to get it away from you. "A piece this small needs to stay about seven feet away from you." Bro left a moment, walking into his room before coming back. He noticed Sollux.  
Sollux quickly snapped on his shades. "Nothing to see here." Sollux remained against the wall, looking of to the side.  
"You need help up?" Bro offered his hand helping Sollux up.

News of Scratch reached the rest of the group quickly. Feferi had disappeared, but Aradia confirmed that she was alive, but had been sold off by her sister who refused to accept that she was human in any way. Feferi refused to say much else and could sadly only be contacted by dreams in the denizen plain.  
Equius was dragged off after his strength became to obvious, Nepeta being taken with him. She refused to part with him to the point she revealed herself when English tried taking her best friend away. By the time the rest of you got there, they were already gone.  
Terezi tried laughing it off, she really did, but now it was getting down to uncomfortably close calls with Scratch.  
She laughed and joked how she would stop him if he laid hands on you with a mighty dragon roar, but when she tried roaring like a dragon you ended up laughing at how adorable she looked. She then promptly smacked you with her billy cane.  
You couldn't believe it when you opened your door to find Terezi wearing her dragon cape in the hall, tears rolling down her face. "Terezi?"  
"Dave..." She buried her head in your chest, hugging you tightly.  
"Terezi? What's wrong?" You close the door behind her.  
"It wasn't supposed to be like this."  
"What do you mean?"  
"I messed up."  
"What happened? Are you okay?"  
Teal eyes looked up at you. "I was almost caught Dave. They almost had me."  
"They didn't catch you, that's what matters."  
"But they know what I am Dave! What if they come after me again? I couldn't move, I couldn't feel anything!" Terezi was scared.  
"Wait, you couldn't move?"  
"Yeah. If Rose hadn't been there they would have caught me. I'm not even sure if she's okay."  
"Rose is smart. I know she will get away."  
Terezi just cried.


	39. Chapter 39

You bolted down the street, dragging John with you as you bolted down alleyways. You don't know who it was chasing you, but you didn't want to know. The group had scattered at the appearance of Scratch, but it seemed he had planned ahead. You had planned ahead to; in case something like this happened, you would take off different ways using the buddy system incase they caught up and you needed to fight back. As you ran into a dead end you almost had to, but John followed your lead as you jumped to the dumpster then a misplaced brick before getting over the wall. You hurried off into the crowd you saw, John keeping up.  
You spotted the source of the attention was Rose with out her headband against a wall. "Get Rose and run for it." You whisper to John.  
"But-"  
"Do it." He nods before getting into position. You toss off your jacket and shades before taking a leap, tossing out your wings. "Hey, miss me?" You call out, painfully visible. You notice John barrel through the open space, getting Rose out of there. Where was Terezi? The crowd seemed a mix of scared and excited. You drop, nearly missing being shot. How did it even get to this? Can't a guy eat out with his friends without having to make sure they didn't get attacked.  
You balance on a light post, deciding that the distraction had to keep going as John and Rose looked for Terezi.  
"What's with you people? I show up literally ten seconds and you shoot at me. Am I really so terrifying I'm not allowed to live?" The crowd grew quieter. "I'm I really that bad? I haven't even done any rule breaking or destroying. Of course, people can't even deal with regular humans, so how can you be expected to deal with a winged kid?" They were really listening, no one daring to move an inch.  
"You see me as a burden when really I've done nothing  
I haven't changed my ways yet you people see trouble  
Trouble on sight or because of sight? Who decides which is worse?  
Maybe it's me or it might be the world choosing my path without reason  
Scared? Don't be. Cautious? Maybe  
Is it the way things are? I haven't gone fighting  
But I'm caught in a trap of steel or words  
It varies, dependent on every aggression  
Succession of a failing system based on transgression  
An obsession with attacking the unknown.  
Do you see? It's not that you care about things or even what you see  
It's about a system riddled with flaws and unclosed seams." You don't know why you started rapping, but it really held people's attention better than just standing on a light post. You heard a 'hell yeah' and a 'keep going!', continuing as John and Rose were busting Terezi out of a van.  
"Understand were I stand  
Maybe you can't fly but hasn't everyone dreamed of wings?  
Flying, soaring, catching the freedom of choices as you pass the world by  
It's not me but these dreams seemed to be lost if I can't even fly free  
You know how to say what you want with me but how about shouting about letting me be?  
Is it really so extreme?" You don't see them anymore, so you decide to stop. A few people seem happy with it, most people just seem surprised. "Thank you, I'm here all week." You try taking off only to get shot in the shoulder. You slip down to the ground, but when you heal your shoulder no one can approach you as flames dance around you. You spot Scratch standing there, staring you down. You can't fly unless you want to get shot again, so you run through the crowd. Some people actually to fight against Scratch as you run past while others try to help him. You dodged a hunter in the crowd who was wearing the snake charm.  
You can officially say all hell has broken loose.  
You ran as best as you could with people trying to grab you and other being pushed back into your way as they tried defending you. You felt the wind toss you up just as a shot rang out behind you. You now have a full view of the scene around you. The fighting was getting worse and the police were called in. You spotted Sollux holding ground against cops as he tried escaping. The streets were closed off and the only way was up unless you were human. You could only get one of your friends out for sure.  
You land back down, ducking behind a dumpster. You could only save one, so who would it be? Sollux would just be trapped in the life style Aradia lived, same with Karkat. It wasn't like you would be able to get Karkat to go anyway. Rose and Kanaya wouldn't leave each others sides in this case. John would stick with it, stubborn, but so would Jade. You sure as hell wouldn't leave your friends behind. You waited, pulling back Terezi when she was close.  
"Terezi, it's me. I'm going to get you out of here, got it?"  
"How? Only humans can get through."  
"Listen carefully. I can undo your transformation for an hour and a half. Run as far as you can in that time for Harley's. If we don't make it out I'm sorry, but better one than none right?"  
"Dave no! What about everyone else, you can save them too, right?"  
"I'm trying that, but I have to be discrete. I'm doing you first alright?"  
"Alright." She nodded. You tried to keep the flames down as you undid the transformation. It made you a little dizzy, but she now looked human.  
"Now go, run for it!" You watch her run off. You almost felt bad about lying to her. The cops let her past and you sigh in relief. John gets over to you.  
"Terezi just got out!"  
"I know, I made sure she did."  
"Wait, you can do that?"  
"I could only do it for one person."  
"She wouldn't leave if she knew that."  
"That's why I didn't tell her." You looked over at the crazy crowd. "Well didn't we make a mess."  
"Scratch started it."  
You heard Rose, darting out into the fray with John. "Get away from her!" You call out as Rose is shoved into the truck Scratch showed up in. You felt a hand on your wing, trying to pull from the grip. Transforming Terezi took to much energy.  
John tackled the guy, accidentally taking you down with him. You started flapping your wings as hard as you could, hearing a snap as you pulled free. You probably just broke someone's wrist. The world was spinning around you and you were exhausted. You actually fell down, struggling to stay awake as you stood back up. Two arms wrapped around you, holding not only your arms down but your wings as well. You tried squirming out of the guy's grip, but you couldn't seem to get free. You see Jade shouting something, but you can't hear it over the roar of the crowd.  
Were shoved in a dog crate next to the one that held Rose. "We messed up."  
"To bad none of us got away." Rose continued to stare at the wall.  
"I helped Terezi get away. I couldn't save everyone else though."  
Rose leaned against the side closest to you," What do you think they'll do to us?"  
"I don't even want to think about it."  
"That bad huh?"  
"Some Hollywood level horror right there. Rose, the guy attacked us on the street, imagine what he'd do in private." You both fell silent. The van doors opened as John was dragged in, shoved into the crate above you.  
"Wait, is someone above your crate?"  
"That would be me." Karkat sighed.  
"What? You too? Were like top side buddies." John sounded like he was trying to joke around.  
"John, you idiot." Karkat laughed nervously. "That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard."  
The door opened as an unconscious Sollux was tossed into the top crate, Aradia tossed in the bottom.  
"Aradia? Sollux? Please don't be dead."  
"I'm not dead Dave. Hunter tapped me."  
"Is-"  
"Sollux?!" Karkat exclaimed in surprise. You heard the clink of metal and rustling of crates.  
"Calm down, he should be fine."  
"There's blood matted in his hair!"  
"Karkat he'll be fine."  
"This isn't fair!"  
"Karkat." You all fell silent again as Kanaya was roughly forced into the cage next to Aradia's. "I see you've come to join us."  
"Now we've fucked up."  
"Did you just-"  
"We've fucked up. We've gone and fucked up now."  
"Do you have a phrase for everything?"  
"Does the Supernatural Fandom have a gif for everything?"  
"We are literally getting taken away right now and you're making fandom references?"  
"Yes."  
"Kanaya I love you, no hetero."  
"I love you too Dave, also not a heterosexual."  
"Great, you all love each othe-" Karkat is interrupted by them dragging in Jade.  
"Let go!" Jade growled, kicking out as the two guys shoved her into the crate above Kanaya.  
"I think that's the last one." The bigger guy grumbled, locking the crate behind Jade.  
"Let us go!" Jade growled. The two left the back, doors clicking locked. The motor started a moment later. "No..." Jade kicked the crate. You suddenly truly realize you are in a crate. A small, wire, heavy duty crate. You could barely fit- nope! That thought is taking the nope train to fuck-thatville. You couldn't freak out now, keep it together.  
"Dave?" Rose asked.  
"What?"  
"Are you alright?"  
"I'm fin-" you swore you saw a different face for a moment there. "...ne."  
"That was really delayed." John stated.  
"No-" you kicked the cage door before you caught yourself. "...o. I was saying no." You notice the glances your way, tossing your wings up around you to block everything out.  
"Dave, you'll be alright." Rose sounded next to you.  
"Yeah, and Skittles make the rainbow."  
"Dave, we'll be fine!" John called down. You ignored him, slipping into sleep. You felt exhausted.


	40. Chapter 40

You wake up... and you're still in a dog crate. The crates are lined up down the two walls to parallel to the door. This was some small store room they must have decided to leave you guys in. You look around to see that everyone else was still asleep in their metal prisons, but something was different. You realize everyone had white medical gowns on, looking down it was the same for you, but you breath a sigh of relief that they left your underwear on.  
Sollux started to wake up. His head, tail, left arm and left paw were bandaged up, bandages making his leg slip out from under him as he tried getting up. "Sollux, you awake?"  
"Courthe I am." He looked up at you from where he was on his stomach, his eyes widen in surprise. "Your thadeth are gone."  
"Yours are too." You look around, noticing everyone's eyewear was gone. "Is anyone else awake?"  
"Yes." Kanaya sat up, tall dog-like ears at attention.  
"Well morning to you."  
John sits up suddenly, hitting his head on the top of the cage. "Ow!" His hands flew up to hold his head.  
"Enjoy your beauty sleep princess?" You smirk.  
"I couldn't even tell it was metal."  
"I think that's a salamander thing."  
"Must be." Aradia didn't even try sitting up. Her head was towards them anyway, so it wasn't like she had to turn around to stay covered. "It felt like metal to everyone else."  
"Are we all awake?" Rose asked as she stretched. She quickly set to going over her ears and tail.  
"Jade and Karkat are still asleep." You mention as you decide to go over your wings. Darn habits and bird instincts.  
Karkat sat up so fast he hit the top, falling over. "Fucking stupid ass dog crates!" He shouted, kicking the door. "This has been long enough time stuck in a fucking kennel dog nightmare of huge ass proportions."  
"Speaking of which, Jade is still asleep." John looked over to the dog girl. He looked so different not wearing gloves and a fake tail. Wait, was that a hamster sipper in the corner? You check the corner of your own cage to see that it was indeed a sipper. "Dave, wha-t the hell!" John looked upset to see what you were looking at. "They're not serious, are they?"  
"I think they are." You tap it. John eyed the sipper. "You're thirsty huh?"  
"Amphibians need a lot of water okay?" John started turning red as he looked at it. Aradia caught on and didn't look so happy about it either.  
"They can't be that bad." You notice John give you the oh-really look. "You want me to prove it?"  
"Yes."  
"Alright." Drinking out of the sipper was weird, with the ball that kept it from leaking and all, but it wasn't that bad. It probably looked weird as hell though. "See? Not that bad, like a weird water bottle you don't have to hold."  
John still didn't seem happy with the idea, but he took a drink anyway. Aradia took a drink when you had, not pleased with the situation either. "This is humiliating." Aradia stated.  
"At least Scratch hasn't showed up yet."  
"It's 6:43. Most work days start at nine o' clock." Aradia frowned.  
"At least that means we have time to talk."  
"Wha?" Jade sits up slowly, looking around in confusion.  
"Morning." Rose states before flopping over on her side.  
It must have hit Jade where we were because she kicked out at the bars. "What?!" She pressed back into the corner, hitting her head on the sipper.  
"Calm down, nothing is happening yet."  
"Yet? That's the only assurance you have?!" Jade seemed angry, but you knew she was probably scared like the rest of you. "This is ridiculous!"  
"I know, but we don't have any options." Karkat growled.  
"I would kill to not be here, ethpethially if it got uth all out." Sollux started messing with his bandages.  
"Oh no you don't!" Karkat smacked the side of the cage several times. "You leave your bandages alone."  
"They're tight and itch." Sollux stopped messing with most of them, but he continued to mess with the ones on his tail.  
"Don't do that." Karkat honestly was glaring at him threw your cage and John's.  
"It feelth weird!"  
"Don't do that!"  
"Wait, I hear someone coming." Jade had her ears on alert. Kanaya and Rose picked up on it quickly too, followed by Sollux. You soon heard the sound of footsteps too. The door opened and in came a woman wearing black leggings and a dress. She didn't look so happy with her job, but she gave each of you a bowl of some sort of goop. As quickly as she came she left, heading back down the hall.  
You realize it was some sort of nutrient paste, but any flavor you expected was a lie. You didn't like the plastic spork either, seeing how the pointed fork parts were basically useless. Karkat was completely done dealing with the sludge, not even sitting on the same side of the crate as the bowl. "You need to eat it Karkat." You state.  
"I don't want to, it's disgusting."  
"You need to eat it Karkat. You need the calories." Aradia continued eating.  
Karkat was not pleased, but he did start eating it. "If you hate this and you know it say I." A round of 'I's went off. "I here by declare this to be the worst day ever for us all, except for me since it's second worse for me."  
"So waking up in a dog crate and being given gross gruel isn't enough?" Jade questioned.  
"I'm being feed, so it's already better." The rest of the group gave you a concerned glance. "Just saying it as it is."  
"That is awful." Kanaya had already finished her bowl. She was staring at the lock, unable to mess with it through the mesh around it. The door opened again, but this time you all moved back as you realized it was Scratch.  
"Good morning to all of you." Scratch stated simply, smug look on his face. He stopped in front of Sollux's crate, crouching down to look inside. Sollux was pressed as far back as he could, tail curled around his feet. "Are you feeling better?"  
"Would you if you woke up in a dog crate?" Sollux eyed him carefully. "The anthwer ith no."  
"Does the same go for your injures?"  
"Why do you care?"  
"I do not want your injures to get worse, so please answer."  
Sollux kept quiet until he seemed to notice everyone staring at him. "My head hurtth, that'th it."  
"I see. Can I check your injures?"  
Sollux's tail fluffed up, ears pinned back. "Leave me alone." Scratch reached to open the crate when Sollux sparked at him, growling. The sparking didn't keep up for long before Sollux had to stop, holding his head in his hands. Scratch opened the crate, dragging Sollux out of the crate before checking over his bandages. Sollux tried squirming free, but Scratch grab him by the back of the neck and Sollux calmed down. It was actually really strange how that kept him still while his bandages were changed. As soon as Scratch was done he quickly put Sollux back in the cage, leaving shortly after.  
Sollux got up, rubbing the back of his neck. "How doeth that even work?"  
"I believe it might be a reflex in animals like dogs and cats," Rose stated," so that the puppies or kittens or so on will stay still while the mother carries them."  
"Great!" Sollux huffed. "How many of us does that effect?" You realize half of the group were mammals like dogs and cats, Rose and Jade actually being a cat mix and a dog mix. "Thtill upthet over having to drink a lot of water?"  
John shook his head no. "Rather drink lots of water."  
"Actually, don't crabs need a lot of water too?" Sollux glanced at Karkat.  
Karkat's eyes narrowed. "No, no I do not."  
"You're freaked out by the water sipper." If looks could kill you would be dead right now.  
"No I'm not, so you can shove that fucking comment down your ignorance shaft this instant! I'm not 'freaked out' as you say by the nibble vermin water device."  
"You did the weird speaking thing you usually do when you get insanely mad... Or insanely defensive."  
"Did a single word reach your hear ducts?!"  
"Prove it then and take a sip from the 'nibble vermin water device'." You made air quotations before sitting back in satisfaction. He looked back and forth between you and the sipper, not showing any sign of moving. "So I'm right?"  
"No your not!" Karkat hesitated, but he tried using the sipper.  
"I was right for a minute." Karkat held up his middle finger. "So I'm guessing you did need a drink after all." Karkat glared at you.


	41. Chapter 41

You were not happy with your metal prison being carried off down the hall. You were not happy with this in any form, feathers bristling at the thought of having to be stuck in a lab with Scratch where he could do as he wished. No being LabStuck. Mental high five, now think of some way out of this. You yank your wing back as someone crouches down near it. You glare at the figure next to you, watching them closely so they can't pull any tricks. Your surprised when they hold out black licorice. You cautiously take it. "Thanks."  
The figure gives a smile before standing back up, continuing off down the hall with your crate. It confuses you why they gave you candy, but you munched on it anyway. You focused on the piece of candy, almost not noticing when you were brought into a little room that looked like a check-up room in a veterinary office but with a few more things. You're cage was left in the room as the stranger left. "Hello Dave." Scratch smiled.  
"Hey, if it isn't the guy who made me misrable." You finished the candy as you glare at him.  
"Enjoy the treat?"  
You suddenly felt suspicious. "What was wrong with it?"  
"Nothing, I just wanted to know if you liked it."  
"Yes?" You expected some twist.  
"Are your tastes like that of a crow?"  
"Do you mean do I like dead things?"  
"Yes."  
"They're cool. Wanted to be a paleontologist for a while, same with a friend of mine."  
"Interesting. Anything you do that's considered bird like?"  
"I fly and do the wing things."  
"The wing things?"  
"Yeah, you know, the wing things." You try to convey this by moving your wings in before trying to do the different actions they did with your reactions.  
"Oh, I understand now. You express things through wing motions, like a bird."  
"They sort of do that on their own."  
"I realize you probably want out of there. Just a reminder that this room can withstand intense heat, so please do not cause problems." Scratch undid the weird lock before opening the cage, holding the door open for you. You cautiously crawl out, backing up so you were across the room from him. "Still don't trust me?"  
"You kidnapped my friends, of course not."  
"That's how they all act, but they accept me eventually." You gave him a confused glance. "The many animals I've studied acted like you and your companions are."  
That was actually interesting. You realize he had gotten closer and you tossed up your wings as you glared at him. "Don't get in my personal space bubble."  
"I see." Scratch went over to one of the cabinets, pulling out a bowl of little gummy type black Scottish Terriors. He offered you some.  
"You seriously trying to win me over with candy?"

He won you over with black licorice dogs. You currently were sitting with your wings spread behind you, munching on the candies. This had to be the deepest bowl of candy in existence, because it seriously didn't seem to lose any mass. Munching on candy kept you surprisingly calm considering you occasionally felt a hand on your wings.  
"Besides your wings and feet, have you noticed any other changes?" Scratch asked, now satisfied with looking over your wings. You didn't want to give him more to test, so you remained silent. "If you tell me I won't have to put you through large quantities of testing."  
"I have more endurance, I'm strong, I'm lighter weight than normal and I... have gills." You were quiet on the last part.  
Of course eagle ears Scratch heard you. "You have gills?"  
"I know it doesn't make sense, but yeah."  
"Why would you need gills?"  
"So you don't drown in your sleep?"  
"I see. These gills are on your neck?"  
"Yes." He stepped forward, gently turning your head before running a hand over your neck. He stopped as his hands went over your gills, removing his hand to look at the spot. "I never would have guessed. I thought they were just faint lines on your neck."  
You gave him a nervous glance. Having a scientist this close to your gills was like asking to get attacked. Now that you think about it, Scratch was being nicer than Grand Highblood was even though he thought of you more as an intelligent animal than a person, opposite of what GHB had thought of you. Was it because of this thinking that he wasn't as attacking or because he didn't have the same position of control?  
"Is something wrong?"  
"I'm trapped here or did you mean at this current moment?"  
"The latter."  
"I'm uncomfortable with you being so close to my gills."  
"I apologize, just a moment longer." You felt something on your neck in a strange sort of way, but moments later the felling was gone. He stepped back and your first reaction was to feel your neck to make sure nothing happened. "What was the ability you used? Flames I believe."  
"Flames."  
"Can you show me?" You nod in response, holding out one hand careful as you watched the flames dance. Scratch was watching closely even as you made them flicker away. He looked like he wanted to say something, but noticed the time and sighed. "Alright. Dave, I need you to go back into the crate."  
"Why would I climb back in the crate?"  
"Because you will be put in there one way or another." You would have argued, but as soon as you tried he shoved you in to the crate. You landed on your wings roughly, sitting up quickly just to see him lock the door. You glare at him even as you're carried down the hall.

You look around nervously, long tail curled around you from your spot on the table thing in the room. Honestly you were terrified of Scratch, being stuck in a room with him was a nightmare in its own twisted way. "Hello John."  
"How do you know my name?" You scooted back as he stepped forward.  
"I heard your friends call you John. What exactly are you mixed with?"  
"Salamander." You realize you can't move back any further, back bumping into the wall.  
"Calm down."  
"Calm down?!" You couldn't get away, trapped between Scratch and a wall. Scratch watched you curiously, just making you even more nervous.  
"I'm not going to hurt you."  
"You've chased me down twice! Why would I believe you?"  
"I haven't physically hurt you have I?"  
You thought about this, relaxing a little. "That's true."  
"Then you should calm down. I have no intention of hurting you." He pulled out candy you recognized as scotty dogs from the few times you went over to Karkat's apartment. You didn't really like them, so you shook your head no. He nodded, putting the candy back. Was this so he could gain your trust or something?  
"Do you do anything salamander-like?"  
You started thinking about things you did and about your salamander, Casey. "I drink a ton of water, but I know Casey didn't have this." You hold up your hands to show the webbing between your fingers. "And I can breath in water. Actually water feels better than air, but I don't understand because I searched all over and can't find any trace of gills and I'm wet all the time."  
"Wet like with water or sweat?"  
"Well yeah, what else would I mean?"  
"Just confirming. Was it difficult breathing while wearing all those clothes?"  
"Yeah actually. It took a day to adjust to so much clothes."  
"Can you hold up your hand again?" You give him a confused look, but you hold out your hand for him to look over it. Scratch touched your hand, rubbing his thumb on the back of your hand as he turned it slightly. "You do seem to have a lot of moister on your skin."  
You nod, noticing him pull out a stethoscope. "What?"  
"I'm going to listen to your breathing." Scratch lifted your gown before holding the cold piece to your back. He kept moving it around like he couldn't find the right spot.  
"Is something wrong?"  
"I can't hear any air movement until right before you talk."  
"What?!"  
"You might be a mix of a lungless salamander."  
"Salamanders can be lungless?!"  
"Yes, same for some frogs. I do not think that is the case for your friend though."  
"How do I get air then?"  
"Through your skin, which is why covering it up made it hard to breath. It is also how you can breath underwater."  
You really didn't like hearing that. You stare at your feet nervously, not really sure what to think of any of this. Scratch was in front of you now. He dropped his pencil, but when he looked up he seemed to notice something. He stood up, gently tipping your head back. For some reason you really didn't want him to do that at all. "Stop doing that!" You tried moving his hands away.  
"There is a yellow splotch under your chin."  
"I know that, stop trying to move my head around!"

You stayed in the crate, not at all pleased with being here. "Don't you want to come out?" Scratch asked.  
"Fuck you. I don't even want to try seeing what you'll try. At least in here you can't reach me."  
"I mean you no harm, I merely thought you would want out." He crouched down to the height level of the cage. "Do you do anything crab-like?"  
"I don't know, do I?!" You growl at him angrily.  
"If you answer my questions you will make it easier for yourself in the long run."  
"I don't care! Leave me alone!" You snarl. He closes the door, locking it before you get taken back down the hall.

You understood that working with Scratch would make this easier and not get you marked down for tests like Karkat managed to do. "Hello Rose."  
"Hello Scratch." You sit down, legs hanging over the edge of the table.  
"Do you do anything you consider cat-like?"  
"I take small naps and am interested in hunting prey animals, but otherwise no."  
"Besides the legs, ears and tail have you noticed other changes?"  
"I have fur running up my back, harder nails, and gills. My eyes are also reflective at night, but the same goes for my friends."  
"I see." Scratch messed with your feet before checking your back. When he checked your neck you felt strange, but the feeling passed soon enough. You felt him touching your ears, but that didn't really bug you until you felt his fingers right behind your ears. It felt nice, and before you knew it you felt something in your throat only to realize it was a purr. As soon as you realize this you pull away, giving an annoyed glance towards Scratch.

Karkat warned you not to fuck up and just take what Scratch did. Of course when it came to doing that you found yourself not saying anything at all and instead curling up in the corner so he had to pull you out. He rechecked your bandages, but you weren't sure how to respond. You instead use your powers to move the bandages just enough to be entertaining. Scratch just watched you calmly. He reached towards you once to fix a loose bandage, but you moved back and fixed it yourself. You hated everything about this, but Scratch was satisfied with watching you play with bandages.

"I'm a frog."  
"But what kind of frog? An ideas?"  
You knew you couldn't tell him. Your mother's side was where your abilities came from, and unfortunately the line was extremely old. In fact, you didn't want to risk telling him. You knew from your internet searches that it was best not to say. "I'm sorry, but it seems I don't recall ever hearing it."  
"I see. You have markings though, so maybe that can help with identification." You rub the lines that run from under your eyes to your shoulders. Unfortunately the make-up you usually wore over it had been fading because of your moist skin and Scratch made you take it off. Rings of markings went around the base of your fingers, but you always kept your gloves on unless you covered the markings. The tan lines across the back of your arms and speckles down your back also didn't help. You could practically hear him guessing correct and having you dragged off for crude experiments and painful tests. "Are you alright?"  
"I'm okay."  
"Can you tell me more about your group? I have noticed many similarities."  
"Like being able to breath under water?"  
"Precisely."  
"It just works that way. Everything happens for a reason, even if it doesn't make sense now. We're all friends. We meet in elementary school and stuck together since, but now our group is being pulled apart by people like you who don't understand us." He seemed surprised. "You probably know about our abilities, but it's not like you can get much out of it. Actually, be wary of Karkat since he can boil your blood, he's probably your biggest threat."  
"Can you explain their abilities better? They don't seem to know much of themselves."  
"Dave can generate flames, but he decides if he wants to destroy or repair with them. Rose is a master of mind games and can show where your path leads. Jade might be weak now, but she pulls things from one place to another with quills being the easiest to pull. John can call the wind to do as he wants, but it's imprecise right now. Sollux has both mental to physical moving power and energy generation and still lacks the skill to use just one at a time or be precise. Kanaya is undeniably swift and strong, but she lacks control and can only either be delicate or deadly."  
"What's your ability?"  
You decided to demonstrate. You flick up your hand, freezing him in place. You keep the hand up as you step over, easily pushing him over with one hand. He fell over, still being held in your grip. You dropped your hand, letting him return to normal. He quickly got up, still completely caught off guard. "I'm guessing you want me to go in the crate now?"

You never did take to strangers well, and seeing as this man you barely knew attacked you three times, you particularly didn't like Scratch. You stayed in the back of your cage when he opened the door, not sure what to do. "Hello Kanaya." You just stare back at him. "Would you like to come out?" You silently climb out, not really sure what to say. Rose told you that it would be fine, but you weren't sure. You still felt awkward standing on your strangely long dog legs. You seriously had no clue what you were, in fact no one did. Your paws were black and didn't return to the reddish-brown color until half way up your thigh, the reddish brown coloring your ears and tail except the white tip. Your black hair felt like your fur.  
"Do you know what I am a mix of?" You ask, hoping that the scientist would have some sort of clue.  
"Unfortunately I do not, but I can run some tests. You do look like a fox, but your legs are a bit long." You nod, not really sure what to say. "Do you have any odd behaviors? That might help."  
"I like the night, I'm not sure if that helps. There's not much else that comes to mind I'm afraid."  
"I see."


	42. Chapter 42

None of you were excited by the day of one by one pulling you guys aside and taking blood samples, especially Aradia. She tried fighting it more than Karkat and actually had to be knocked out for them to do so. Speaking of Aradia, when she came back yesterday she had several markings you hadn't noticed before. She responded that she had always had them, she just kept them covered.  
Kanaya was upset that no one had a clue what she was, not even the animal scientist. Rose managed to stroke her hair through the gapes in the cage, but only because Kanaya had her head against the cage side closest to Rose.  
Aradia was freaking out as soon as she woke up. "Aradia? What's wrong?" John asked.  
"They can't figure out what I am!" Aradia was trying to somehow mess with the lock. "If they do it'll be worse than if they had Summoner!"  
"What?! He was a fairy-bull mix. What's wrong with the frog species you're a mix of?"  
Aradia looked around as if someone would come in. She went into her median mode. "Their extinct." You heard her voice in your ear even though you knew that it wouldn't be picked up by a microphone.  
"Wait, really?"  
"Yes really, which unlike fairy-bulls can't be found if you look hard enough. Last I know they were being researched before their extinction for something medical related."  
Everyone remained silent. "Kanaya, can't you get the crate open?" You ask.  
"I would have to get through the mesh and steel bars. Although I might be able to, but the metal might also cut up my arm or I might get stuck and make escape an impossibility."  
"Don't hurt yourself." Rose rubbed at the base of Kanaya's ears with her fingers. "Besides, you should save your strength."  
"Alright Rose."  
"How long will Scratch's testing take to get results?" Karkat questions Rose.  
"Two days. We need to escape that day."  
"Huh?"  
"Do or die Karkat, unless you want to stay here."  
"No, I want to leave."  
"Then it's settled."

Things are strange, but then again they always were. You stumble into another damn wall, deciding to stop to rest. "Dave, keep going." The little walkie talkie crackles.  
"You had to go with the ever popular maze." You walk on, glaring around. You didn't like this stupid maze one bit, and you could swear they were changing the pieces around behind your back for shits and giggles. Actually, you decide to test if the walls were flammable and... oh fuck, hypothesis confirmed. Actually, this stuff made dampening the flames insanely difficult, but then again maybe that's what the wanted?  
Walking through a currently burning maze was surprisingly easy. Actually, why didn't you do this to start with. "Dave, please don't burn down the maze."  
"What's the worst that could happen?"  
"We could send one of your friends in."  
"What the hell is wrong with you people?"  
"Actually, we were running two tests at once, so you might want to find the salamander hybrid."  
"Oh fuck-" you try forcing the flames down, but they are currently spinning out of control. You take off sprinting. "John! John!" You hear something, kicking through one of the walls like a cheesy movie hero. John looked like he was in the process of passing out. You decide to try to put out the flames in this area, but that doesn't work very well and basically did nothing. You realize the outer walls weren't flammable, just the inner wall. You make the flames grow bigger, tearing through their energy source so quickly that they flicker out from loss of fuel.  
You pick up John, bolting across the almost empty room for the finish line. His skin barely even had moisture to it at all, making you run faster. "Why is this room so huge?!" You huff, jumping over the pile of debris as you drew closer to the exit. And of course more burning walls. You dart in and out of the final stretch, actually burning some as you approached so they wouldn't hurt you as they fell. "John, hang in there."  
You see the finish, going as fast as you can. As you cross the line you look around for any water in the little room. They were apparently thinking ahead because you found a tank full of water, which you immediately dump John into and proceeded to get splashed by the excess water and the rest dripping down the sides. Why didn't you think ahead? You could have killed him... actually he might already be dead. "John, please don't be dead." You sat in silence for what felt like eternity before you saw him slowly open his eyes. "John? You're okay..."  
He sat up in the water, smiling at you to show he was okay. You stand up on the balls of your feet to lean over the tank and hug him. You accidentally slip into the tank, splashing someone who had been behind you. The tank wasn't meant for two people, especially when it was two by six feet and only three feet deep. You realize that John was blushing and oh man you were kind of pinning him down on accident. You eventually are standing up in the tank, but now to get out of said tank. Flying wouldn't work because your feathers were wet, so you were down to only one option. You try climbing out and end up falling back in. John had sat up, trying to get out of the way only to have you land in him. "Dave!"  
"Sorry John, wet wings don't fly well." You notice one of the scientists trying not to laugh. "Can you help me out here? Yes you, the guy trying not to laugh in the corner." The guy came over, just picking you up and setting you on the ground. You look over to see that your escape attempts caused a third of the water to be all over the floor. John sat up, head over the water when he sat on his legs.  
"Wow Dave." John laughed. You shoved his head back under so he couldn't talk. He just slipped from your grasp. "Can't stop me!"  
"Please don't tell anyone."  
"What? That you couldn't get out? Don't worry, I won't say anything."  
"That's a lie and we both know it."  
"This is why we're best friends."

You search around again before looking over to Rose. You both met in the testing area where you were both told to find the mouse with the spot on it, you green and Rose pink. The area looked like a it had been burned down and the had originally planned something else. Plenty of debris and ash for the mice to hide in, but as you both realized, also extra mice.  
Rose pounced on another mouse, checking for the spot on its belly. She sighed," Another distraction."  
You look around the dim room. Rose was happy to pounce on the mice, but you didn't want to accidentally kill one. Rose actually started killing them so you wouldn't find the same mouse twice, but you still weren't sure if you were supposed to. Hunting the mice down with Rose seemed odd, like you shouldn't need help. You heard a mouse off to the side, but noticed rode was already hunting one.  
You stalk the little mouse, approaching slowly before catching it in your hands carefully. The mouse squirmed in your grip, but when you saw its belly there was a pink spot. "Rose, I found yours."  
Rose came over, looking at the mouse. "Interesting. Does it smell different from other mice?"  
"It smells like spray paint."  
"Now we know how to find yours." You both tried sniffing out the mouse that smelled like spray paint, which you couldn't focus on because the mouse kept squirming. "Hand me the mouse."  
You handed her the mouse, which she held onto so it wouldn't escape. You kept looking, picking up on the strange smell of spray paint.  
You spotted the mouse, but there was another with it. You stalked it, catching the mouse and flipping it over. No spot, but the other mouse was close. You had accidentally killed it, putting it back down as you went after the other one. You were more careful this time, the silly thing almost slipping through your grip. You flip it over to see the green spot. "Found it."  
"Then let's find the finish." Rose smiled, hopping over a tall burnt piece of what appeared to be walling. You followed closely, making your way through the wreckage. As you both crossed the finish line you received some glances. You noticed them being extremely cautious of you, like you would kill them with a single poke. Did they somehow know your ability?

"Had a great day Karkat?" You joke, still glad the whole situation with John was alright.  
"I can't remember a fucking thing." Karkat continued staring into the corner. "Not even dreaming."  
"That's odd."  
"Dave is right. Maybe you didn't dream?" John suggested.  
"You guyth theemed to have all the fun while AA and I got thot full of quills."  
"I said I was sorry!" Jade was still in the back of her crate. "Now we know you can't pick the locks with quills."  
"It was a good try." Aradia sighed.  
You all fell silent as Rose and Kanaya were brought in, crates placed back in the usual spots. Rose was dazed on her stomach while Kanaya looked concerned. "What happened?" You look at Rose.  
"There was catmint. As you can guess, Rose is currently intoxicated."  
"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhush. Kanaka I'm fin." Rose tried standing on all fours, but she fell back to her stomach.  
"I knew those mice were bad."  
"Micey mice."  
"She's totally out of it." You confirm. "Wait, what mice?"  
"We had to hunt down mice for our test, which unfortunately had eaten large amounts of catmint."  
"How is the plan supposed to work if Rose is out of it?" You notice Aradia already doing her median thing. "What are you doing?"  
"Her dream self is probably fine... Yes!" Aradia fell silent a moment. "She saws she's trying to see the list now." Everyone waited anxiously to hear what it read, attention on Aradia, well except Rose's put she had passed out after saying 'mice'. "Dave- American crow."  
"I'm so America the only way to beat me is being a bald eagle."  
"John- Van Dyke's salamander, Rose also says yellow-orange phase."  
"What's that mean?"  
"It's just what color. Rose- Siberian house cat. Jade- Canaan pet dog."  
"Okay."  
"Karkat- Porcelain crab. Aradia- Platypus fro- forget that one."  
"Wait, I know about those frogs. Their really cool." Jade smiled.  
Aradia ignored her. "Sollux- Red fox."  
"Of courthe I am."  
"Kanaya- Maned wolf." Aradia opened her eyes again.  
"What is a maned wolf?" Kanaya asked.  
"Oh, they look like foxes with really long legs, but they aren't foxes or wolves. Their endangered I think." Jade then got distracted by something, ears perked. "Someone's coming."  
Moments later the door opened, but fortunately it was just the woman wearing black again. She dished out food before quickly leaving. It was the weird whatever they called this slop. Rose was still asleep and probably would be out for another few hours. The day was almost over, you all knew this. "Now how to get out."  
Kanaya looked up. "Dave, I may have an idea regarding that."


	43. Chapter 43

It was pitch black, but that little detail was quickly fixed when you held a flame safely in your hands. Kanaya kicked down on the inner edge of her crate, forcing the edge to flatten against the crate floor. She slipped her hands under the space under the door, forcing the door to bend up before wiggling out through the space.

She then set on to pull the locks off ever cage, releasing the rest of you. The door would require much more force than Kanaya could put out. Jade placed her crate on top of yours, hopping up before making a quill appear. She used it to unscrew the air duct above her, screws making a soft _clink_ as they hit the linoleum. She hopped down before gently placing vent on the ground, climbing into the vent. You all quickly followed.

You all had to keep it down so the night watchman didn't catch you and make things more complicated. Unfortunately none of you thought about if any of the air vents lead out. The only one that lead out had a huge fan in front of it because no plan could be perfect. You guys needed to get out tonight, but there wasn't a way to stop the fan as far as you guys knew. You look down a nearby vent to see that it lead to the security room.

You motion for Sollux to open it with his powers. The vent cover dropped on the guard's head a moment before you did. You look the door before looking around and finding a broom, taking just the metal broomstick before climbing back into the air duct. "Sollux, can you stop the fan?"

"Not for long, but yeth."

"Do it." You stand next to the fan. You can tell Sollux is really trying, but the fan slowly grinds to a halt. You quickly shove the broomstick between the fan blade and the wall, motioning for some to hop through. Rose hope through followed by Kanaya, Jade, Karkat, then Aradia dragging Sollux along with her. John was about to step through when a sharp crack sounded, tumbling back in time to miss the fan starting up again.

"Great." John frowned.

"It was a good try. Hold on." You search for something else you could get into the duct that would stop the fan, but the next metal object was a filing cabinet. You hop back up. "This isn't working as well as planned."

"All I can do is speed it up! Wait, why not do the heat thing like when Rose was captured?"

"Crawl back a few feet." As soon as John had gotten far enough back you started trying to melt the thing. It was exhausting, but slowly the fan was turning red. You kept going, the edges you the fan melting off and splattering drops of molten metal. The fan got smaller and smaller, much like the amount of energy you had left before the base collapsed to the metal of the vent below it in a melting heap. You couldn't seem to catch your breath, but you helped John over the hot metal anyway with the help of Rose.

As soon as you were all out of the vent you lead the way into the forest with no real plan as to where you were heading. "So what's the plan?" Aradia asked.

"Get as far away as possible."

"Aren't we going home?"John questioned.

"We can't. Scratch knows where we live, people know who we are, and someone is probably going to check along the path there for us." The group remained silent. "Hate to be the barer of bad news, but we really can't. That town isn't safe, hell, this state isn't safe. We should head far north or far south. Any ideas?"

"We're mainly southern animals. How about heading south?" Aradia suggests.

"I think north would be a good idea. Who would check Canada for animal hybrids meant for warmer temperatures?"

"Rose does have a point."Jade noted.

"I'm not going to Canada."

"But think of the irony Dave! No one runs away to Canada in the movies."

"Dammit John, why did you have to make it hard to say no."

"Because I want to go."

"Everyone who wants to go to Canada say I." A round of 'i's went off. "Canada it is."

(Authors note: thank you to everyone who read this! This is the last chapter. You guys are great and I loved reading the reviews. This took longer than I thought to write, but it worked out. Hope you all have a great day ^_^)


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